Once Upon a Dream
by thoughts like stars
Summary: Kim Crawford didn't have anything. All she had was a horrible stepdad, two girls she's forced to call sisters, and a crushed dream. And all she wants is to regain her confidence. Make that dream come true. Unless more roadblocks arise on the way there. / AU. Jack/Kim.
1. A New Beginning

**A/N-Hi guys! This is Taylor, with a brand new multi-chapter Kickin' It story! Okay, so honestly, I don't know where I got this idea from. But with all the Cinderella Stories filling up the archive, I decided to make one my own…but don't worry, I'll try to make it as non-fairytale as possible…hence the title not being "Another Cinderella Story" or something like that. But check out those stories…my favorite is by LetTheMindRunWild. It's pretty good! Anyway, the story is AU, and this is my first AU fanfic, so hopefully you'll all like it! I'm pretty satisfied with the way this story turned out, so…yeah. **

**ENJOY MY NEW STORY!**

* * *

**Chapter One: A New Beginning**

* * *

Kimberly Crawford didn't ask for this.

Of course, nobody would be concerned if she was upset about something. Heck, there was nobody even for her to be concerned; let's face it, she was alone in the world. Every night, she would crawl into her bed with an insecure, depressed lonely emotion that heavily drenches her heart. At times, she wishes to stay curled up in her bed, and never come out of her room, so she wouldn't have to deal with the torture she's endured for the past ten years.

Of course, she couldn't afford to do such thing.

After all, what could a 15-year-old girl like her do if she was displeased with something? Tell her parents? Make a scene? Fight for what she wanted?

She couldn't do anything.

Not when her parents were no longer with her. Not when all she had was a wicked, abusive stepfather along with two horrible girls she's forced to call "sisters". Not when for the first time, Kimberly Crawford was actually scared of her entire world.

Yes, yes, it's actually true.

In light of recent events¸ she has lost her formal confident, go-for-what-she-wants self.

By the format of this story, it's reasonable for you to think that this could end up being some sort of fairytale, a story children can read off of books. But for Kim Crawford this was no fairytale. In fact for her, it was the opposite.

A nightmare.

Yet, it was an adventure.

In other words, this is her story.

Of how a girl who deals with many unfortunate events tries to overcome her roadblock and gain her confidence back.

And how she learned about friendship, loyalty, and how to deal with the world.

* * *

_Beep, beep. _

"_Kimberly Crawford, get your lazy butt off that bed NOW!" _

Kim lethargically slammed her alarm clock shut and forced her eyelids to rise open, staring at the demented, wooden ceiling. She stared at the clock, the time being 6:45 in the morning, which was actually later than when she would normally get up. Well, could you blame the girl? Her horrible stepdad worked her to death the previous day. Realizing her stepfather had been screaming her name, she jumped out of bed, throwing her comforter on the wooden ground, and frantically rushed down the two flights of stairs, from the rusty attic, being her bedroom, to the ground floor, with crystal white walls covered in decorations, expensive furniture, and a cold marble tiled floor. She came face-to-face with her stepfather whose hair was a mess, and wore a silky bathrobe on along with an irritable frown on his face, tapping his foot impatiently. Kim gulped down hard in anxiety.

"I called you so many times, and it took you _this _long to come down!" He screamed. "You know we have a huge tournament tomorrow, and I need to make preparations! In fact, I'm due with the other Senseis for a meeting to discuss the scheduling in twenty minutes!"

"I'm sorry Uncle Ty, it won't happen again." Kim said softly. He walked up towards her with a menacing glare.

"It better not." Ty said. "Be lucky I'm allowing you to stay in my home. Even though nobody knows—that would ruin my reputation as best sensei in California."

All Kim did was stare at him, not wanting to say anything that would potentially cause Ty to hurt her in any way…_again._

"Now go make me and the girls some coffee…and go change! I don't want you wearing _that_ to school!" He stared in disgust at Kim's white tank top with cotton capris.

"These are my pajamas." Kim countered. Ty looked at her.

"Is that attitude you're showing me?" Ty asked. Kim inhaled deeply.

"No I—"

"Just get it done! Pronto!" Ty screamed. Kim rushed towards the kitchen counter, trying to make the coffee rapidly while the sleep deprivation remained in her eyes, making her want to shut them, and sleep on top of the coffee maker machine. It was bad enough Ty had made worked her to death yesterday, and now she's forced to get up in the morning and make him some damn coffee? Couldn't he do it himself?

Of course, Kim would never tell him that.

She knew very, _very_ well of what Ty was capable of.

"KIM!"

Kim ran out of the kitchen coming face-to-face with Kelsey and Claire White, two of the three most popular girls in school, along with the head of the trio, Donna Tobin. Kim exhaled deeply with frustration and stared at the two girls. While she was afraid of her stepdad, she was willing to beat the hell out of these girls any day.

Just when Ty's not there.

"What do you want?" She retorted irritably.

"Where's our coffee, maid?" Kelsey demanded.

"I'm getting to it…I just woke up, you know after you _killed_ me yesterday rearranging your stupid gigantic closets."

"Oh, you poor thing…well get to it quickly! I don't want to be late for school!" Claire said, with that annoying high, perky voice of hers.

"Huh…didn't think you two of all people would actually be excited to go to school." Kim snapped, returning to her coffee making. Kelsey and Claire followed her into the kitchen, which just made Kim even more frustrated.

"Um, hello? The Halloween Bash is tomorrow, and we need to find costumes and more importantly, dates in school! We haven't had any offers yet, which is _tres mauvais._ I'm sure we'll get our offers today." Claire said, with a smile. Kelsey spontaneously squealed in delight, as she stared at her phone.

"Why would you need a costume? Just go being yourself—that's scary enough." Kim countered with a smirk on her face. Claire shot her a glare.

"Oh em gi, Donna just texted me saying there was a new kid coming into school today! And it's a guy!" Kelsey said, staring at her phone excitedly. A thrilled grin grew on Claire's face.

"Really? Perfect…dibs on the new guy!" Claire said, with a flip of her red hair. Kim rolled her eyes, stuffing the coffee cups in their hands.

"Please, like the new kid would ever want to go out with you freaks." Kim mumbled. Claire and Kelsey glared her.

"Listen, you better watch your mouth, Kimmy. Daddy's already stressed and angry as it is…wouldn't want to anger him more now would we?" Claire said, stepping closer to her. Kim narrowed her eyes at them.

"Besides," Kelsey said. "If you think the new kid wouldn't go out with us, what makes you think he's going to want to go out with…you?" They both laughed loudly. All Kim did was glare at them, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You won't even be allowed to go to the dance tomorrow!" Claire laughed. Irritably, Kim shoved the coffee, into the two girls' hands.

"Here." She muttered. "Just drink your stupid coffee and—"

"KIM! WHERE'S MY COFFEE?" Kim heard her stepfather scream.

"Coming Uncle Ty!" Kim screamed frantically, and rushed over to hand him the coffee. From behind she could hear her so-called sisters laughing at her in amusement. Kim handed Uncle Ty the coffee, and rushed upstairs to get ready for school, with only fifteen minutes to shower, change, and rush over to her only friend, Grace's house so they could walk to school together.

_Just three more years Kim…then you can finally move out of here. _

* * *

Jack Anderson was nervous.

Sure, he's traveled multiple times throughout his life, always moving because of his mother's work. Always referred to as the "new kid" and never "Jack". Always the outsider. Of course, over the years, he had somewhat gotten used to entering new schools, meeting new faces. It seemed like a routine for him, therefore never had the chance to grow true friendships.

This time, however it was different.

As of right now, his mother's company decided to stay in San Jose. Which meant they were no longer moving…

Which also meant he had a reputation to build.

What if they didn't like him? What if the kids at school think he's a loser? As this was Jack's "real" first day of school, he didn't want any screw-ups. He wanted this this day to go mellow and peaceful. If that was even possible.

Being a 15-year-old, Jack wasn't ready to drive yet, so of course his first day of Seaford High begins with the cliché mom-dropping-off son initiation, with both of them in the car, staring at eachother in apprehension as well as excitement. Not the best way, but what could he do about it?

"So you have everything?" His mom asked with concern. Jack turned to his mother, and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Yes, mom would you calm down? I'll be fine…hopefully." Jack said with a smile. She grinned back.

"I know you will…just remember, if you need me to pick you up after school, I'd be more than happy to leave—"

"You don't need to leave work. They need you…and it's cool I have my skateboard." Jack said. She rolled her eyes playfully.

"Just don't get into any trouble, okay?" Her mom said. Jack nodded, keeping in mind as to what she was really talking about.

"I won't get into any sort of trouble at all, Mom, okay? I promise." He smiled. She let go of the wheels and squeezed him into a tight embrace. Shaking his head in disbelief, with a slight chuckle, Jack squeezed her back.

"Bye mom." Jack said. He let go, and got out of his mom's BMW and with a deep sigh, stared at the large school building with kids swarming in all sorts of directions. With a smile, he started walking into the doors of Seaford High for the first time, with excitement and anxiety churning together in his stomach.

And as far as Jack was concerned, those two emotions don't mix well together.

**::**

_135…136…ah here it is, Locker 137! _

Finally locating his locker, Jack merrily twisted in the combination, and stared into his empty battered up, slightly clean locker. He started filling his books into it as fast as he could, before the first bell rang so he wouldn't be late for class. While it's only been five minutes since he's been in this school, a positive feeling enveloped his mind, as he thought of how nice the teachers and principal were to him. He hasn't quite interacted with any of the students' yet¸ but if they were anything like the accommodating teachers, he'd be just as comfortable to hang out with him. And while it was only October, he still had a good opportunity to develop friendships with others before the end of the year. Maybe this school wasn't so bad after all…

"Whoa! Have I seen you before?"

Jack peered his head out of his locker, and saw a somewhat tall boy with jet-black hair slicked back, and a goofy, immature grin on his face. Judging by the "Like a Boss" T-Shirt this kid was wearing, Jack assumed this guy was somewhat of a troublemaker. The boy twisted in the combination to the locker next to him, and he gave Jack a warm smile.

"Um, no actually. Hi, I'm Jack." Jack politely held out a hand. Rather than shaking his hand, the boy slapped it.

"Yo, you're the new kid, yeah I've heard of you! Well, my name is Jerry Martinez. 20 percent smart. 35 percent funny. 25 percent devious. And 75 percent all swaggitude."

"Uh…that's 155 percent." Jack said quizzically, laughing a bit.

"Damn right it is! Whoo!" Jerry said high-fiving Jack. He laughed.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Jerry. Looks like we're locker buddies."

"Cool man, and if you need any help or anything with finding your classes, you let me know." Jerry said, patting his back, and shoving his backpack into his locker and getting out his books. Jack smiled.

"Definitely. Thanks Jerry."

"Oh, and during lunch, want to sit with us? I'm sure Eddie and Milton would love to meet you. They take karate with me at the Bobby Wasabi Martial Arts Academy. Ever heard of that place?"

"No, I haven't. We just moved in yesterday so—"

"Not to worry bro, got you covered. I'll introduce you to Eddie and Milton, and after school, I'll show where we practice karate."

"Sounds like—"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't _Martinez._" Jack and Jerry spun their hands around, coming face-to-face with a curly haired boy who wore a menacing grin, and a jacket that had a badge saying "The Black Dragon Martial Arts Academy." Jerry tried to mask on an assertive look to the curly haired kid, but Jack could see the fear in his eyes.

"What do you want, Frank?" Jerry demanded.

"Just wanted to see how you're doing with the _new kid. _Aw, were you going to invite him over so he can see your crappy dance and karate moves? Ha, well good luck with that. You wouldn't know karate if it hit you in the face." The curly haired kid retorted. Jerry glared at them, with hurt clearly portrayed in his eyes. Jack's fists clenched¸ but since this was the first day of school, he controlled his temper.

"Hey guys…just back off, okay? Leave him alone." Jack demanded.

"Aw, the new kid's standing up for his new best buddy." Frank teased. "How adorable."

"Hey…I think maybe we should teach these two a lesson." A guy next to him hissed.

"Not a bad idea…how about I teach you and your new friend what _real _karate is?" And with a malicious glare, Frank shot his fist in the air aiming for Jerry's face.

When a fist caught it.

But not just any fist.

Jack Anderson's fist.

"You probably shouldn't have done that." Jack said, and with a glare, and a twist of his arm, he flipped Frank to the ground. Pandemonium ensued, and the rest of the Black Dragon people charged in Jack's direction, and using his limited martial arts knowledge, Jack was in full self-defense mode, as he spun in the air, and kicked the guys in the stomach, throwing them against the lockers, and knocking them out cold. Even as Frank managed to stand up once more, Jack beat him to the ground again. Before he knew it, four boys in Black Dragon sweaters lay on top of eachother on the ground, moaning in pain. It seemed like the entire school had crowded around in a circle and watched the fight, staring at Jack in complete shock. Jack looked up and saw hundreds of eyes fixed on him, including Jerry's, with their jaws dropped and their eyes wide. Suddenly, he could feel his face heating up, and butterflies angrily striding through his stomach. Sweat beaded down his temples and the more deep breaths he took the more nauseous he felt.

What had he just _done_?

He promised his mother he wouldn't get to any kind of trouble.

_This _is the kind of trouble she meant.

Unsure of what to do, Jack hastily grabbed his skateboard out of his locker, set it on the ground, and he rode off to the exit, to get away from the school for a minute to take a breather. He could hear the indistinct murmuring, positive that it was totally about him…

When a sudden bright light interrupted his train of thought.

When Jack ran into someone.

His body crashed with other person's and he fell to the ground, his body colliding with the cold, marble floor. The skateboard had fled away by itself, and while Jack was meaning to catch it before more trouble would arise, he could barely get up himself for a minute. Wincing in pain, Jack could faintly see rough scrapes and red marks over his arms and legs serving as a punishment.

"God, really?" He heard an annoyed, higher-pitched voice. Jack hastily attempted to stand up, and regain his vision to help the person he had bumped into.

"Oh god—I'm so sorry, I—" At the moment, Jack's 20/20 vision had returned and he was able to catch sight of who he had bumped into. As the person was in extreme pain, Jack really wished it was one of those Black Dragons he had hurt unintentionally…

But instead it was a girl.

A _pretty _girl.

The girl made eye contact with Jack for the first time, with her blonde hair covering her face in a mess, and her doe-like brown eyes peeking out of her bangs. She had on a frustrated scowl, as she saw her books lying across the hallway. While the pain was still stinging, Jack hastily got up, and offered a hand. Rather than taking his hand, she ignored it, and attempted to stand up herself.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean—"

"Don't you know the school rules?" She snapped. "Or are you just that stupid to know you don't skateboard in hallways?"

While Jack understood she didn't particularly like him at the moment, he could _really _do without the snippy attitude.

"I'm really sorry, um…" Jack looked around, and quickly gathered her books that were scattered all over the place, before she could really do anything…in fact, she couldn't. The girl could barely stand. "Here." Jack handed her the books. She snatched it from his hands, and gave him an irritable frown.

"Thanks." She muttered under her breath. She seemed a bit weak, clutching her head in pain. She attempted at walking over to her next class, and ignoring the stares, while she stumbled and almost fell.

When Jack caught her by the arms.

And they attempted to lock eyes.

"Do you need me to take you to the nurse or something?" Jack asked, not letting go of her. Instead, she hastily released from his grasp.

"I think you've done enough damage, don't you think?" And with a frown, she trudged off. Jack stared at the jaw-dropped students, and saw a skinny-looking boy, along with a dark-skinned boy emerging from the crowd, and facing him.

"Dude," The skinny, sweater-vest boy said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "That…was…AWESOME!"

"Yeah, man you just took out FOUR Black Dragons all by yourself and saved my friend!" The dark-skinned boy yelled a bit too loudly, pulling Jerry from the audience. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the entire group of kids burst into applause and smiles. Jack stared quizzically at the two boys, his eyes wide, and his breaths still short and sharp.

"What was that?" Jack asked.

"Thank me later." The dark-skinned boy hissed. "I just saved you from total humiliation, and possible reputation loss."

"Thank you." He said, sighing in relief. "I'm Jack by the way. You must be—"

"Eddie, that's the name." Eddie smiled.

"And I'm Milton." The skinny, nerdy kid said. "Now, we should probably get you out of here before Principal—"

"JACK ANDERSON!"

The applause and excited chatter immediately died down and the hallway cleared to come face-to-face with a stern looking Principal Squires. Just minutes ago, he had a welcoming smile on his face…now it's you're-so-dead face.

"My office—_now._"

It was a proven fact.

Jack Anderson couldn't go one day without getting in trouble.

Maybe he was what his previous schools had said he was.

A troubled kid.

**::**

"What were you thinking?"

Jack fiddled with his fingers, staring down at it, so he wouldn't have to stare at the principals' disappointed face. The fact that it had only been half an hour of his first day of Seaford High and he was already sitting in the principal's office wasn't a good sign. Fed up, he decided to look into the principal's eyes, so he could explain and clear himself up.

"Look, Principal Squires, I didn't want to cause a fight, I promise you." Jack blurted. "Frank was about to punch Jerry in the face, so all I did was catch the fist, and then just…you know, flip him over. So then, his friends charged for me and tried to attack me…so I just went into self-defense mode that's all. I swear."

"Alright, its okay Jack, calm down." Mr. Squires laughed a bit. "I understand you were trying to stand up for your friend, and yourself. But physical violence is not tolerated in this school."

"But what about Frank and them? They're the ones who started it!"

"Don't worry—I'll speak with them _after _they return from the _nurse's room_."

Jack groaned in guilt and slumped in his chair.

"So…are you going to expel me?"

"I'm leaving you off with a warning, Anderson. Let's leave it at that." Mr. Squires said.

"Really?" Jack sighed in relief. "Oh…thank you so much, I promise I won't—"

"And." Mr. Squires stood up from his chair. "One week of detention."

While Jack was slightly annoyed he was getting an entire week of detention, he solemnly nodded, and walked out of the office.

"Oh, and Jack?"

Jack turned around to face the Principal.

He smiled, and laughed a bit. "Welcome to Seaford High."

With a chuckle, he walked out of the office, only coming to see Milton, Jerry and Eddie bounce at his faces.

"What did he say?" Jerry asked. "This is totally my fault…"

"Did he suspend you?" Milton asked.

"Oh the horror!" Eddie squealed.

"Calm down!" Jack hissed at his three new friends. "It's okay, don't worry about it…I just got 'sentenced' into a week of detention."

"LUCKY!" Jerry screamed. "I miss seeing my peeps! Mind if we trade places? Eh…whatever…I feel a prank coming on anyway." Jack rolled his eyes.

"That's…horrible." Milton shuddered, glaring at Jerry. "I can't imagine getting into detention. Of course, I would never even _dream _of tarnishing my perfect record."

"It's okay Jack…" Eddie patted Jack on the back. Jack smiled at Eddie. "Principal Squires is easy going. He won't hate you or anything, so you still have a good reputation in school…in fact—"

"Hey, new kid!"

Jack spun around coming face-to-face with a…pretty looking girl actually. Her red hair was in long, glossy curls that fell over her shoulders, and she had a flirty smile plastered on her face with her shimmering blue eyes staring right into Jack's. There was another girl with sandy brown hair standing next to her, wearing an equally seductive grin. While Jack found this a bit creepy, being the nice guy he was, he gave the girl a smile and held out a hand.

"Hi, I'm Jack." He smiled. "What's your name?"

"Claire." She giggled, shaking his hand. "I know your name already. Um, listen, I just wanted to tell you that you were amazing taking down those Black Dragons. The Black Dragon is the best dojo in town…I go there actually since my dad owns the dojo and all. But you…you're incredible! You must have some great background in martial arts."

Jack blushed slightly. "Well, I—"

"I'm Kelsey!" The sandy-brown hair girl yelped. With a weirded out grin, Jack shook her hand as well.

"Nice to meet you too." Jack smiled. Claire glared at her, which caused Kelsey to back away a bit.

"You were, like, a hero!" Kelsey giggled. "Everyone in school, like, already _loves _you…dude, you're like majorly popular!"

Jack gave them both a quizzical look. "I am?"

"Totes!" Claire squealed. "Anyway, so tomorrow, there's this Halloween Bash that everyone's going to…everyone's going to be dressed in costumes, and it's going to be totally rad! Anyway, so I was wondering if—"

"_Ahem." _

_Who is it now? _

They all came face-to-face with yet, another girl whose hair was in sandy-brown curls as she wore on a seductive grin adjusting her miniskirt and blouse, and securing her purse on her arm. Scowling at Kelsey and Claire, she sauntered towards Jack, followed by the clanks of her high heels, with a wide grin spread across her face.

"Yo what it do, girl?" Jerry attempted, putting on a smolder. Donna rolled her eyes, and fixed them on Jack.

"You must be Jack right?" The girl said smoothly. "I'm Donna…see, you've already made a new friend!"

Jack chuckled. "Hi. It's nice to meet you." He said, once again. "I've uh…met your two friends…nice girls."

"Oh, they're not my friends." Donna said a little too quickly. Kelsey and Claire seemed taken aback at Donna's response. She gave them a menacing glare, and Kelsey and Claire fearfully scurried off, managing to flash flirty grins and waves towards Jack. While he loved all the attention, he didn't particularly like these girls.

"Just ignore them." Donna said. "They're freaks. But just remember…if you need help with anything, just let me know."

"Thanks. So what's this about a dance that everyone's talking about?"

"Oh, its Seaford High's first ever Halloween Bash. I thought of the idea, being head of the school activities committee¸ because I thought it would be cool to come dressed in cool costumes and be incognito, you know?"

Jack chuckled nervously. Donna laughed and handed him a post-it note with a phone number on it.

"What's this?" Jack asked.

"Call me sometime." And with a smile, Donna clanked away with her heels. Jack's jaw dropped as he stared at Milton, Jerry and Eddie, utterly baffled.

"Whoa—the new kid has got game, whoo!" Jerry hooted high-fiving Jack. He chuckled, but shook his head.

"I'm not really interested." Jack muttered.

"Are you _kidding _me?" Eddie argued. "Donna Tobin is the most popular girl in school! You'd be a fool to not go out with her!"

"I'm sorry, but she's just not my type." Jack argued. And it was true. Donna Tobin seemed like the kind of girl who would cry if her nails broke. The kind of girl who would beg for the latest Prada bag.

Jack didn't like nor want those kind of girls.

"Oh, and who _is _your type?" Milton questioned. "The girl you ran over with your skateboard?"

Jack recalled the scene where he had bumped into the blonde hastily and painfully, barely catching a glimpse of her face, but still pondering her as an extremely pretty girl. He did feel awful for running over her like that—but he wasn't too pleased with the girls' grouchy attitude.

"Who _was_ that anyway?" Jack asked curiously.

"Her name's Kim. She's not the kind of girl you wouldn't want to mess around with." Jerry said.

"But, she's pretty nice once you get to know her…I guess." Milton said. "I talk to her sometimes, but we're not really friends."

"She's pretty athletic, she's a cheerleader, but she's really…quiet." Eddie said. "She doesn't get out much. She gets invited to a lot of parties but never shows up to any of them. And she's always hanging with Grace."

"Well, look who's been feeling stalker-ish lately." Jerry teased.

"She looks…nice." Jack said, deep in thought.

"Oh, _really?" _Jerry raised an eyebrow at Jack's direction. He chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"I meant she _seemed_ nice." Jack added quickly.

"Uh, she called you stupid, and then gave you her famous death-glares…and you call that nice? Huh…I'd love to know your definition of not-nice." Eddie teased.

"Well I mean, she—"

"Hey guys! There's something called classes that we need to attend!" Milton squealed with anxiety. "Let's go!" And he took off to his classroom. Rolling their eyes, Jerry and Eddie followed behind them, leaving Jack all alone in the hallway. Jack pulled his schedule out of his folder, and stared at the first class he was_ supposed_ to have attended a half hour ago. Just thinking about the fact that he had already gotten in trouble on his first day of Seaford High made his stomach lurch in pure guilt.

_I won't get into any sort of trouble at all, Mom, okay? I promise. _

Jack was the kind of guy who keeps his promises.

Not breaks them.

With an anxious sigh, he trudged off to his first class which was Algebra. While people gave him amazed stares, calling him a 'hero', and while he was gaining popularity in an instant, none of it seemed to matter for Jack…

Because he still felt like a criminal for hurting someone, when he swore to himself he'd never do again…

And break a promise.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Kim stopped at her tracks and faced Grace, panting repeatedly. Grace, being her only friend who could possibly understand what she was going through, had a concerned look on her face, looking this way and that to see if this coast was clear. Kim gave Grace a reassuring smile, and patted her shoulder comfortingly. While she was oh-so appreciative of Grace always having her back, and helping her get through everything, she can be a bit over-protective at times.

But Kim still loved Grace anyway.

"Yes I'm sure." Kim said, smiling. "It's the only chance I get. All I need is just some time to get away from all the drama today in school." Kim recalled the whole bumping-into-the-new-kid scene, clutching her head again. Thanks to him, for the next two periods she did nothing but stumble across the hallway and trip and fall, as she was feeling extremely lightheaded. Okay, she will admit the new kid was pretty cute, but there was no way they would ever interact again. In fact, she hasn't seen him ever since he bumped into her. It was just unfortunate that they briefly locked eyes, and said a few words. Kim made up her mind she was never to think about that boy ever again.

Donna, Kelsey or Claire would probably beat her to asking him out anyway.

With Kim's awful head collision, tripping and falling, as well as her sleep deprivation from being worked to death by Ty, Grace dragged her to the nurse, and she was forced to take a pain killer and be sent home to rest.

Yet, rather than taking some rest, she decided to the opposite.

"It's just…you hit your head on the floor, you almost fainted in AP English, and you were sent home early to get some rest…not to practice. Plus, if your stepdad finds out, he'll kill you."

Kim stared longingly at her stepfather's dojo, just waiting to get inside, secretly change into her gym clothes, and learn her own karate skills. Honestly, she never asked her stepfather if she was allowed to join his martial arts lessons. But she already knows the answer, so what's the point?

"Please Grace. This is probably my only chance in getting extra time to practice. I'll be fine; you can go back to school. Please?" Kim smiled her willingly, and with a scoff, she rolled her eyes, and sighed reluctantly.

"Alright fine!" Grace said.

"Thank you! I'll see you later!" She hugged her, and with a squeal, ran inside the Black Dragon Martial Arts Academy, and changed into her gym clothes she had secretly stashed in one of the back lockers in the girls room. So far, her stepdad hadn't ever discovered that she was secretly practicing one of her most auspicious hobbies in his dojo. Hopefully that continues.

Once she finished changing into her gym clothes, she made her way towards the mats, and started off with her daily routine warm-ups. She practiced by kicking and punching the dummies as hard as she could just to get her mind off of things. While her head was still throbbing in pain, it didn't seem to matter once she was on her own practicing the one thing she loves. Karate allowed her to disconnect with the world. It allowed her to release her emotions out, and forget about everything…and just be herself. Her worst day ever could suddenly turn into the best day of her life.

But of course, this passion stays only to herself.

Because if anyone ever found out—

"Kimberly Crawford, what do you think you're _doing?" _

Spoke too soon.

_Crap. _

Kim frantically turned her head to see a shocked, angered Ty White, as he saw Kim with sweat beading down her temples, and her fists still clenched from the punching. Kim opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but no words came out.

"I…I…"

"Did you ask my permission to be in here? What are you doing out of school? Have you been ditching?" Ty bellowed loudly.

"No, see, I—"

"You have been ditching!" Ty stomped towards Kim, and tugged on her hair that was tied into a ponytail. Kim screamed at the top of her voice, but he didn't seem to take any notice, and he used it to shove her away from the mats, causing her to fall to the ground at the entrance of the dojo.

"I haven't!" She screamed. "I was sent home early because I wasn't feeling well!"

"Don't lie to me!" Ty screamed. Kim breathed heavily, staring at Ty with wide eyes. "What are you doing here? My boys have an important tournament to train for this Saturday!"

"I was just tidying up the dojo!" Kim screamed quickly. "That's all! That's why I was here"

Ty looked around skeptically, and stared back at her. "Well, it does look a little clean…"

Kim stared at Ty willingly.

"But that is NO excuse for ditching school, coming here without permission, and lying to me! You are grounded for a week for ditching school, do you hear me? That means you aren't allowed to go anywhere but the school for an entire week—and your cellphone will be confiscated as well! You are to go straight home and into your room! I'll have a list of things for you to do after practice!"

Kim stood up and faced Ty. "Listen to me, I didn't—"

"GET OUT!" And he shoved her hardly out of the dojo, which caused her to burst out of the doors, and almost topple to the ground….

When Kim hit her body against someone.

She collapsed on the ground, and noticed another kid had also toppled to the ground as well. Kim looked up, and saw three figures standing above her, in shocked eyes.

"Whoa. Where'd you come from, mamasita?" She heard a deep, obnoxious voice. Her vision began to regulate, and once it did, she saw three familiar boys from school staring at her. The skinny nerd was Milton…the dark-skinned was Eddie…and the annoying Latino was obviously Jerry.

Oh yeah…she knew these three boys well enough to know they're complete fools.

Kim locked eyes with who she'd just bumped into, and noticed it was a very familiar brunette who had caught her gaze earlier today. It was hard to see him clear, as her bangs were covering her eyes scrappily. Still not knowing his name, he immediately stood up and offered a hand.

And again, Kim refused to take it.

She attempted to stand up on her own, with wobbly legs, and stared at the boys. They all had confused looks on her faces. The new kid, stood in front of her, and managed a smile.

"Well, we just can't stop bumping into eachother can't we?" The new kid said with a smile. Kim gave him a scowl and stood up.

"No because apparently, you just love seeing me get hurt. Just like everybody else." Kim snapped, and attempted to leave, when she felt a hand collapse on her wrist. She refused to turn around, but she heard him say it loud and clear.

"I'm sorry for bumping into you earlier. I didn't mean to." The boy said. "But…you bumped in to me this time…so… did someone push you or something? Are you okay?"

"Any other points you'd like to make?" Kim barked her voice cracking.

"I didn't mean it like—"

And she released from his grip, and ran off with tears in her eyes.

Kim was gone….

Not ready to face the world anymore.

* * *

**A/N- Yeah, see I told you it was AU. Before you get all mad, I made Kim lose her well-known confident personality for a reason. Keep in mind she IS still her confident self but for the first time is actually scared of Ty, which is why she's lost that mindset to always stand up for herself and things. But anyway, hope you liked the first chapter! Yeah, it IS kind of Cinderella, but…I'm still trying my best to get rid of the clichés. And I'll try my best to include J, E, and M more. **

**So, if you don't mind, click on that review button right below and give me some feedback. I love hearing your thoughts and predictions! Review, subscribe, favorite! Do what you need to do(: **

**Haha, hope you all liked the chapter! I'll see you soon with my next update!**

**~Taylor :)**


	2. The Lack of Self Assertion

**A/N- I know you were expecting an update from The Hunt, but I figured since I haven't updated this story in more than a month, I give you all a good update. Hope you all didn't forget about this story! I just want to say thank you so much for all the reviews…I know I don't say this a lot, but really I'm so happy that all you guys took the time to read my stories and review. Thank you all so much! I have a few things planned for you all, so be prepared!**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter Two: The Lack of Self-Assertion **

* * *

He was known for being the player. The guy who constantly hits on one girl to the next. The guy who's known for his outstanding detention record for pranking. And only to his closest friends, the guy who on the inside has more problems to face than one could ever imagine.

But when Jerry Martinez gazed at Grace West, he was no longer himself.

With her coffee-brown hair hiding her face, Jerry gazed at Grace from the opposite end of the lunch table, as she laughed with her friend Kim, chewing on some pasta. Jerry's eyes instantly turned to the banner that was hung up on the top wall.

"HALLOWEEN BASH TONIGHT! GET YOUR TICKETS!

And your dates ;)"

That last part seemed to have been scribbled messily in marker, but Jerry casted a glance towards Grace once more, desperately wanting to listen to the poster. Yet, with his palms growing sweaty, his heart thumping loudly in his chest, and butterflies angrily swirling around his stomach, it was clear enough how Jerry Martinez was feeling—a sentiment he rarely ever endures.

Anxiety.

"Jerry!"

Snapping out of his train of thought, Jerry stared at his friends Milton and Eddie, who raised their eyebrows deliberately. Jerry rolled his eyes.

"What?" He demanded.

"Dude, you've been staring at Grace for like, the entire lunch period! Just ask her out already!" Eddie exclaimed. He then muttered something Jerry didn't quite catch.

"Just take her and leave me forever alone."

"Not now!" Jerry replied. "I'm...I'm not ready, okay?"

"You're never _not_ ready for love!" Milton exclaimed. "See, I took the courage and asked out Julie…and look at me now."

Jerry let out a frustrated sigh, and rolled his eyes. While he will admit that they are cute, they're the most annoying couple he'd ever come across.

"Listen guys, I—"

"Go! The dance is tonight! It's now or never!" And Milton and Eddie shoved Jerry out of his chair, and heaved him over to Grace's tables. Nearly tripping, Jerry hammered his head onto the table, and fell to the ground. He looked up, seeing a shocked Kim and Grace with their jaws wide open. Jerry managed to flash in a sheepish grin, and with his balance uneven, Jerry stood up and stared at two.

"Sup girls?" Jerry grinned nonchalantly.

"What are you doing?" Grace asked skeptically.

"Uh…" Jerry stammered. "Just…wanted to ask you a question."

Grace stared at Jerry, furrowing her brow in impatience.

"I'm listening."

Jerry dilated his eyes in trepidation, unsure of what to say. What was he supposed to ask again? Jerry's eyes scanned Grace's entire body, and stared at her boots.

"Where did you get your shoes?" Jerry blurted. "Because girl, they are off the hook!"

His voice grew incredibly high towards the end. Jerry bit his lip in frustration, muttering curses under his breath. Kim and Grace exchanged puzzled looks, and stared at Jerry in disbelief.

"What did you do _this _time, and what do you need from us?" Kim demanded, folding her arms across her chest.

Jerry scoffed, and was taken aback at Kim's response. "I did not do anything! If anything, I'm trying to play the good guy who follows the rules!"

"Yeah, say that now but we'll be the first to point and laugh once we see Principal Squires grabbing your hand and shoving you into his office," Grace said, with a grin. "I'll give it five minutes _tops_."

Jerry raised his eyebrow at Grace. "Is that a bet?"

Grace's smile slightly faltered in confusion. "What?"

"If I don't get in trouble for the rest of the day today…" Jerry began, resting his back on an empty chair next to Grace.

And he stared at the banner and broke out a devilish grin.

"Then what?"

"You have to go to the dance with me."

Now her smile had fully disappeared, and she stared at Jerry with wide eyes. "_What?" _

"You heard me, mamasita."

Grace's cheeks colored into a deep shade red and she exchanged looks with Kim, who seemed to be enjoying this, with a wide grin playing on her face. She looked at him with nervous eyes, but attempted to mask a confident look as she nodded reluctantly.

"She accepts!" Kim cried cheerfully. "But if you lose?"

"Well—"

"Uh-uh, now it's _my _turn." Grace stepped in. "If you get into any sort of trouble today, _I'll _set you up with one of the girls from the chess club." She smiled wickedly.

He cringed in disgust. "Not the _chess club._ Those girls haven't had dates since…ever!"

Grace chortled. "Hey, they're your only chance, Mexican boy."

"Not if I win."

"I'll make sure you lose."

"But what if I win?"

"I won't let that happen."

"Fine. It's a bet then."

Jerry reached his hand out towards Grace, beckoning for her to shake it. A hesitant frown crept upon Grace's face. For a second, Jerry could see the apprehension soaking in her eyes, as they briefly locked stares for a few moments. He felt her studying him for a second, which ultimately caused a smirk to sneak upon her face, as she took Jerry's hand and shook it firmly.

"Deal." Grace said. A vivacious, electrifying sense tingled up Jerry's arm as he locked hands with her, which immediately caused him to release from the longer-than-usual handshake. He sat back in his chair, and placed his palms on the back of his head nonchalantly.

"This is going to be the easiest bet I've ever done. Better pick a nice costume, Grace...I suggest something relating to aliens, since I'm dressing up as an alien for Halloween. If you're going to be my date, we need to coordinate."

"Oh, so you're coming as yourself?" Grace asked, with a triumphant sneer on her face. Kim laughed, and high-fived Grace. I rolled my eyes.

"Speaking of aliens…why isn't the new kid sitting with you?" Kim said, glancing over at my table.

"Oh, Jack? He's eating with the principal…lunch detention."

Kim solemnly nodded and returned to nibbling on the cold, disgusting sandwich the cafeteria has to offer. Her face seemed to darken when she heard Jack's name…as if they've been natural enemies when all Jack did was _accidently _bump into her…twice. Jerry found it a bit peculiar…after all, every girl in the entire school was practically drooling over this new kid…

What made her so different?

"Why?" He asked, raising his eyebrow. "You thinking about asking him to the dance?"

Kim shot him a threatening look. "Um, considering he caused me practical concussion, no thanks. I'd rather just go with Grace…when she wins the bet."

"What makes you think she'll win?" Jerry demanded

"I think we're done here. Why don't you just go, and catch up with your friends?" Grace said, with a smile. Understanding that she was _so _playing hard-to-get, Jerry stood

"Bye Kim." He waved. She gave back a little wave, and grinned at Grace.

"Grace."

"Jerry."

And he went back to his seat, explaining to Milton and Eddie everything that happened.

And he told them about the bet.

The one that he was going win.

And get that dance with Grace.

* * *

_Biology. _

Last period of the day.

Not the class you want to be in at the moment.

Especially when it's _Frog Dissection Day. _

Kim tied her honey-blonde hair into a tight ponytail, and buttoned the white lab coat, staring at the empty dissection tray in utter disgust, with Grace right by her side. Kim casted a glance towards Donna, Kelsey and Claire who had revolted looks on their faces, as they took the goggles like it was poison. She chuckled at the sight of the three girls who looked like they were ready to die…frankly Kim wouldn't have minded that.

Her eyes caught attention Milton and Julie holding hands with excited grins on their faces, as they stared at their dissection tray with anticipation. Kim smiled at the perfect couple—it was easy to picture them being noble peace prize winning, married scientists. Her eyes trailed to the seat next to them, seeing Jerry and Eddie poking eachother with the dissection probe. She rolled her eyes playfully, and anxiously waited for the frog to appear on her dissection plate so she could cut it open, and examine the frog guts.

_Joy. _

"Class! Gather around please! Martinez, Johnson…leave the dissecting tools _alone!" _Mr. Daniels screamed. The class came together and huddled around the stern-looking teacher who sat on his desk and eyeballed the students.

"Now, for this particular lab, I've assigned you partners for multiple reasons." Mr. Daniels said. "One of them being that _some _of you can be a little immature." And he glared at Jerry and Eddie who let out a sheepish grin.

"Now Jerry and Eddie…one more infraction like that, and you'll be sent to the office…_again." _

Jerry's eyes dilated in fear and anxiousness and he nodded vigorously. Grace and I couldn't help but let out a snicker at Jerry, who seemed extremely afraid of losing the bet. So far, according to Grace, Jerry hasn't been sent out to hall, excluded out of activities, chased by hall monitors, _or _called to the Principal's office once. But by the way he's acting right now, it looks like he's about to break.

Grace should be meeting up with those chess club girls anytime soon.

"Now let me just grab my roster, so I can tell you all who you'll be—"

"Sorry I'm late!"

The door banged open revealing a stressed out brunet who stumbled his way towards the teacher. The entire class fell silent as he scurried into the classroom, shoving a crumpled late pass into the teacher's hands. The teacher nodded in understanding and he took a deep sigh of relief. He was the boy who was excused if he was late. The boy that all the girls drooled over, even when he looked like he was about to pass out at any moment.

Jack.

"It's quite alright," Mr. Daniels said. "Now, moving on I'd like to give you your new lab partners for the frog dissection unit. Once you hear your partners, just grab a frog from the large tray over there and start dissecting! Now Milton, you'll be paired with Julie."

And with a cheer, they went into their seats, staring at their frog with eagerness.

"Eddie, you'll be paired with Stacy," Mr. Daniels said, glaring at Eddie. "And I did that for a reason." He added. Raising his eyebrows in a flirty way, Eddie walked with Stacey to the nearest table, grabbing a frog, placing it excitedly on the tray while Stacey pinched her nose in disgust.

"Jerry, you'll be paired with Grace." Mr. Daniels said, glaring at Jerry. Jerry shot a challenging smirk at Grace whose jaw was wide open. She clenched her fists in frustration, and glared at him, as he played with the frog that was sitting in his gloves.

"It's fate." Kim whispered in her ear, giggling as Mr. Daniels announced more partners. Grace gave her a penetrating glare.

"And Kim, you'll be paired with Jack."

And her jaw dropped as well.

Kim shot an annoyed look at Jack, who frankly looked…nervous, was it? Scared? It was hard for Kim to study Jack, under the thick, foggy goggles. But it was enough for her to see that this lab wasn't going to end well. Hearing Grace's laughter, she whispered something in Kim's ear.

"It's fate."

Rolling her eyes, Kim trudged to her seat, while Jack grabbed the frog and placed it on the dissection tray. For a second, neither of them said a word, as Kim took the dissection tools out of the bag and stared at the frog in disgust.

"You know, if you want to request a different partner, I'm okay with that."

Kim looked up at Jack, who rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, staring at her with apprehensive eyes. She rolled her eyes, and shrugged.

"Look, it's just a stupid lab. I don't really care." Kim snapped, trying not to make any eye contact with him whatsoever. The fact that this kid seemed so 'innocent' and 'helpless' aggravated Kim at the moment. He's not perfect. He's not a hunk, or Mr. Nice. She knows he has _some _evil side.

As far as Kim was concerned, everyone had an evil side in her life.

"Well, you should probably leave the dissecting stuff to me," Jack said, grabbing the scissors. "Don't want you breaking a nail or anything—"

Now Kim was fuming.

Jack reached his hand towards the frog with the scissors.

When she stopped him, with a karate chop to the wrist.

Jack's eyes dilated in shock, and he stared at Kim, who looked so infuriated, she was ready to hurt the boy. He dropped the scissors onto the tray and she snatched the scissors with the other hand, glaring at him.

"You do _not _want to know what I'm capable of." She said icily. "I don't need you telling me what I can or can't do. You guys just stereotype girls as these weak little…gazelles. Well guess what? This gazelle's got claws. Now leave the dissecting to _me._" And with a cold scowl, she vigorously started cutting the frog's skin open, leaving a conflicted Jack who was at a loss for words.

"Wait…that was a perfect self-defense technique." Jack said. Kim paid no attention, and continued burying the scissors into the frog's skin.

"You take martial arts lessons, don't you?"

Kim stopped her cutting, and stared at Jack, her angry eyes slightly softening. He was the first person to recognize that she'd taken martial arts…was she making that obvious? "I wouldn't exactly call it lessons but…wait, how did you know, Mr. Detective?"

"Because I take martial arts too. Well, I used to. I'm a black belt." He said, slightly smiling.

"Congratulations." Kim snapped, tearing o pen the skin of the frog to examine the organs and intestines. The fact that she actually had something in common with this jerk was too overwhelming for her. "Why don't you make yourself useful, and hand me that probe?"

"First you tell me that you want to do the dissecting, and now you're scolding me for not doing anything?" Jack said, slightly annoyed as he handed her the probe. "Seriously, why do you hate me so much?"

"Maybe if you didn't judge me just like everybody else, I wouldn't hate you as much." She growled.

"Okay, look I'm sorry I said that. I just thought you didn't like dissecting…I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything. And I'm sorry for bumping into you earlier. I really am sorry. Can we just start over?"

Kim let out a big sigh, and tried looking into his eyes. Even with the goggles, she could see the remorse soaking in his eyes, begging for forgiveness. The innocence really annoyed her, but being a person who constantly picked on and insulted by others, she didn't want to say no to him.

She wasn't a bully.

Rolling her eyes playfully, she handed him the forceps with a small smile.

"Here. I'm Kim, by the way."

_He did say start over, didn't he? _

Grinning, Jack took the forceps, and started taking out the frog's intestines. "I'm Jack. Nice to meet you."

And he held out a slimy, gloved hand for her to shake. Kim stared at him.

"Um, how about I shake your hand when there _aren't _frog guts on your gloves."

Chuckling, Jack took his hand and returned to cutting out the organs to finish the dissection. While Kim still wasn't too comfortable with this boy and his attitude, she gave it another try to try and adjust to it. Even though they'll be nothing but acquaintances. But something that Kim herself knew very well was that she's never good at the 'adjusting' part. Especially to guy she's still not so confident with.

Only God knows how well their relationship will go.

"Jack!"

Jack and Kim's heads jerked up, coming face-to-face with a girl who had coffee-brown hair tied into a tight bun, while wearing a custom made pink lab coat rather than the mediocre white lab coats that everyone wore. In her hand was a beaker containing the sample of the demorphin or "frog juice" we were supposed to collect. A seductive grin played on her glossy lips, and she stepped closer towards Jack with her high heels clanking behind her.

"What's up, Donna?" Jack said a little half-heartedly.

"You two know eachother?" Kim said her eyes amplified in shock as she frowned at Donna. Just when she thought she could actually get to know the boy, he starts falling in love with the world's biggest clown, who's known for her so-called 'legs'.

Donna Tobin.

"Yes. Yes, we do. Got a problem with that, dear?" Donna snapped, sneering at her. Clenching her jaw, Kim returned to putrid frog, vigorously pulling out more frog intestines in frustration. How she wanted to beat the hell out of that girl so badly…

"So, what is it? Got a project going on here," Jack said a little impatiently. Donna giggled.

"Well, the Halloween Bash is tonight and I was wondering if you needed someone to go with." Donna said, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack took a deep breath, and gave Donna a half-hearted smile, slowly taking her hand away from his shoulder. Kim rolled her eyes.

"I don't know if I'm going." Jack said. "But if I do end up going, I'll just see you there."

She giggled. "I'll take that as a yes. Well, you have my number so just text me then." She smiled, her eyes flickering on Kim every now and then. Was she trying to make her _jealous?_

"Yeah. Sure." Jack said unwillingly. And with a feeble wave, he stood from his seat.

"Hey Kim, I'll be right back…I just need to go to the bathroom. Try not to do too much without me?"

Kim sighed reluctantly. "Fine. But hurry up. Class is over in ten minutes." And with a nod, Jack rushed out the door, leaving Donna and Kim alone. Donna made her way towards Kim and whispered something in her ear.

"Stay away `from him, Cinder-smella. Or else." Donna hissed in Kim's ear. Kim clenched her teeth and glared at her.

"Or else what?"

For a second, Donna didn't do anything. All she did was merrily smile at Kim, with a hint of malevolence peaking at the corner of her lips. She backed away from Kim, and stared at her. At first Kim grew skeptical about Donna's awkward silence.

But then it all became clear.

When Donna hurled the demorphin in Kim's face.

"Oh look! She wanted the frog juice all for herself!" Donna yelled so the whole class would hear. She could hear snickers burst from everyone in the entire class, with their eyes fixed on her. Kim cringed in disgust at the smell of the demorphin that was stinging her face. Her cheeks started burning, as she was struggling not cry. Mr. Daniels rushed over to her and handed me a towel with a baffled look.

"What's going here?" Mr. Daniels roared. Grace rushed into the scene, giving Donna a penetrating glare.

"Kim tripped me, so I accidently dropped the frog juice. Sorry Mr. Daniels." Donna pouted. Mr. Daniels stared at Kim in disbelief.

"Is that true, Ms. Crawford? Did you trip Donna?"

"No she didn't!" Grace yelled defensively. "She spilled it on her!"

"Alright, alright enough is enough!" Mr. Daniels bellowed with frustration. "Last period is almost over, so we'll discuss this on Monday. Now Kim, just for your safety I'll write you a pass to the nurse so you can get yourself checked—demorphin is not something you'd want to have on your skin. So just pack up your things and head over there. As for the rest of you—start cleaning up!" And with an annoyed sigh, he returned back to his desk, and the normal chatter erupted again in the classroom. With a sneer, Donna pranced off to her table, high-fiving Claire and Kelsey. Not even making eye contact with anybody, Kim immediately stood up from her seat, and dashed out the door, avoiding all the laughter and comments. While Grace was repeatedly calling her name, she didn't bother to turn back.

Kim was used to Donna humiliating her.

Yet, she couldn't help but shed a tear or two.

* * *

_4:58…4:59…_

"Alright, you wretched children. Now get out before I keep you in here for another hour of detention."

Jack swooped his books into his hand, and scurried out the door, along with the other boys behind him who were oh-so desperate to get out of that classroom. While walking out of the vacant school building, he jammed his books into his book bag, and lifted his hood above his head, so his hair wouldn't get drenched from the rain that was pouring outside. He breathed out a sigh of relief to finally be out of that tiny classroom he stayed in for the past two hours doing absolutely nothing.

This is what he gets for standing up for friends.

As soon as he stepped outside of the school building, he could hear the loud splashes of rain slapping the pavement brutally. Adjusting his hood, Jack's eyes scanned the parking lot, searching for a grey BMW, and as soon as he found it, he rushed to his mother's car and slammed the door shut.

"Hi mom." He panted. Jack's mother didn't say anything as she started the engine once more, and drove out of the Seaford High campus. She kept a stern face on, as her hands tightly gripped the steering wheel in frustration. Jack could sense the anger from his mother, which caused a guilty feeling to stir inside of his stomach. Ever since yesterday, his mom's been giving him the "silent treatment" which Jack always despised, especially when it came from his mother…who was the only "family" he had left.

"Mom, how many times do I have I'm sorry?" Jack said impatiently, staring at her mother with forgiveness drenched in his eyes. Jack could see his mom's enflamed eyes focused on the road, not even returning any sort of eye contact. The car fell silent, with nothing but the squeaking noise of the windshield wipers echoing throughout the car, as it slid back and forth. Fed up, Jack slumped further into the leather car seat, staring at the window, more specifically on the droplets of water racing down the glass.

"You remind me so much of your father."

Jack tore away from the window and stared at his mom again, his jaw clenching in frustration. His mom's face had suddenly gone pale, with tears forming in her eyes. Still not making eye contact with Jack, she tried focusing on the road…well, at least she attempted until she nearly bumped into another car with a spontaneous red light.

"It's just detention, mom. It's no big deal." He growled. "You don't need to bring him up in every single conversation we have."

"Jack you don't understand—"

"He's gone, mom!" Jack screamed. "Will you just forget about him? He chose to go out of our lives! Now, I may seem like a troubled, messed-up kid, but I am _nothing _like that bastard you married."

"Jack Anderson, don't you use that language with me!" She yelled. "One day into school, and you already got yourself a week of detention! You know that I barely have enough work hours as it is, and now I have to pick you up every day!"

"It's just a week!" He argued.

"That's not the point!" She countered, finally making eye contact with him, her green eyes wide in anger. "You just never learn, do you? I thought you were done with fist fights after what happened in your previous school! But you just can't keep your hands to yourself! I made a big mistake enrolling you in martial arts when you were little."

"And guess what?" He screamed. "You didn't enroll me! Dad did!"

She took a deep breath, and clenched her teeth, obviously trying to control herself. Jack stared at her in rage, waiting for her next argument. But he knew very well the conversation would end here.

Just like it always did.

"I'm done talking about this. What you did was wrong, and if you can't accept it, then just do whatever you want. Get expelled. Get arrested. Follow your father's footsteps. See what I care."

"Mom!" Jack yelled, her words piercing him like knives.

"I said I'm done, Jack." She stared at him sternly. "I'm just done."

And the signal finally changed to green.

* * *

She could still smell the demorphin that was lingering on her face no matter how many times she washed it, as she trudged into the White's Mansion, throwing her bag to the side in exasperation. According to the nurse, thankfully the frog juice wouldn't affect her skin, as long as she rinsed it with cold water every twenty minutes. She collapsed on the couch in exhaustion, thankful that Kelsey and Claire haven't come home from school yet.

All Kim wanted was _one _day.

One day without being insulted, or humiliated by them.

But it looks like they're going to embarrass her even on Graduation day.

The only thing Kim was looking forward to today was getting out of this place, and having fun at the dance with Grace, dressed in the same costume she's been wearing for the past couple of years. A witch.

"Kim! Where are you?"

She muttered curses under breath as she heard her stepfather calling her. Sighing in frustration, she rose from the couch and hurried over to the living room, seeing her Uncle Ty admiring himself in the mirror. He turned around and faced Kim with a scowl on his face.

"Ah—what took you so long?" Ty scolded. He sniffed the air, and flinched in revolt.

"What _is _that horrible smell?" Ty said, staring at me. He walked closer to her and inhaled once more. She stared at him with fearful eyes.

"Ugh, it's you1" He said in disgust. "What did you do? Do you always smell like this?"

Kim shook her head vigorously. "No actually—"

"And what is that around your neck?" Ty demanded staring at Kim's necklace. Before Kim could say anything, Ty tanked it out of her neck, causing her to wince in pain. The necklace was diamond encrusted with the name "Haley" craved on the pendant.

"Did you steal this? Who's _Haley_?" Ty roared. With the flaming look in his eyes, it looked like he was about to slap her. Avoiding any sort of physical attack, Kim snatched the necklace from his hand. She quickly reattached it around her neck, clutching the pendant in her hand, so he wouldn't yank it off and break it.

"Haley's my mom." Kim said softly. "She gave this to me before she passed away. I never took it off all these years."

"Aw, what a cute sob story," Ty said sarcastically with a sneer. "Now, I don't have much more time to talk. Today's my away tournament with the boys at San Diego. I'll be back at around midnight, so in the meantime I have a list of chores I need you to complete." He shoved a piece of folded paper into her hand. With a baffled look, she started unfolding the piece of paper.

By the time she finished unfolding, the list reached to the floor.

With wide eyes, Kim skimmed through the paper, looking at Ty like he was absolutely insane…which is true, actually.

"Vacuum the driveway? Polish the tiles? Clean the girl's _bedrooms_?" Kim yelled. "This is going to take all day!"

"Then I suggest you get started right away." Ty said. "By midnight, I want this entire house to be…pristine. Otherwise you get grounded for another week…understood?"

"But…the dance is tonight." She said softly. Ty raised his eyebrows.

"Well that's just too bad. We're having a special guest to come this weekend for lunch and I need this house to look its best."

"But can't I—"

"_Understood?" _

Kim stared at Ty, with a tsunami forming in his sea-blue eyes. Kim's heart sank in dismay, her eyes filled with hurt. She was about to say something, but it looked like if she did, Ty was going to smack her until she started bleeding. But she wanted to say no. She wanted to say she didn't need him. She wanted to tell him that he was torturing her. She wanted to stand up for herself, for once.

Instead, all Kim Crawford said was one word.

"Understood."

* * *

**A/N- Okay, so definitely not my best work, but I hope you all enjoyed it. I'm sure you have a bunch of questions in your head, and you probably know how this story turns out. But, be prepared for the twists! So Jack and Kim have switched from enemies to acquaintances, and I did that for a reason. You'll find out in Chapter 3 which I already have partially written. Did Jerry with the bet? Will Kim get to go to the Halloween Bash? Will Jack and Donna go together? All these questions—we'll see what happens! **

**Review please! Thank you guys so much! Hope you enjoyed it!**

**~Taylor **


	3. These Complications

**A/N- So yes, I'm happy to say that I managed to gain internet connectivity here! I'm currently across the world, which is why this post may be a little off-timing, but I had to give this in to you guys. See, the thing is the connectivity is extremely slow and limited, and to make this faster, I had to come outside of the house to publish this so I hope this was worth it. So yes, I am back with my update on Once Upon a Dream, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! I didn't get that big of feedback to the previous chapter as I did on the first…it might have been because of my month-long hiatus on this story…so do you guys mind dropping in a review for the previous chapter if you haven't? It would be much appreciated! **

**Thanks guys, and hope you like this chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: These Complications **

* * *

Milton Krupnick wasn't really looking forward to this.

It's just a typical high school dance, with a Halloween theme added to it. People eat all the food they can, dance their heart outs, squeal when their favorite song is booming through the amplifiers, and occasionally the real bad boys get drunk. It turns to be one hell of a dance. Of course, everybody was looking forward to this bash, buying costumes, and finding dates even when it was supposed to be a Halloween party rather than a dance.

But Milton wasn't _everybody. _

The only reason why he was doing this was for Julie.

Yes, yes while Julie was the girl who always has a wide smile plastered on her face during Physics and has been leading straight A's for as long as he could remember, she was also the kind of girl who occasionally wants to have fun, regardless of what people thought. Of course, there were limits to her definition of "fun", but they were enough for her to willingly go to this stupid dance. As Milton was Julie's boyfriend, he was supposed to support whatever her wishes were.

So he reluctantly agreed to go.

With a sigh, Milton and Eddie walked in the night sky to Julie's house. Milton was dressed as Sherlock Holmes, wearing a large trench coat that kept him warm with the cold wind outside, an old-fashioned hat and magnifying glass clutched in his hand. Eddie was dressed as an ogre, with his skin painted green, wearing a ripped, stained shirt and lose pants, which according to him, wasn't hard to find. Milton would have preferred Eddie waiting outside, but Eddie wanted to come to see Julie's costume. With slight irritation, Milton banged his knuckles against Julie's front door, exchanging nervous glances with Eddie.

"This should be good." Eddie snickered.

Rolling his eyes, Milton heard footsteps echoing from the other side of the door, and muffled yells. Julie flung the door open, wearing her usual floral-patterned, vintage like dress with leggings. However, her face expressed nothing like the cheery, uplifting ensemble she was wearing. Mascara ran down her cheeks, as her eyes were bloodshot and puffed up, like she'd been crying for hours. She clutched her right arm, seeming to be wincing in pain, struggling to conceal her agony. While she looked beautiful as always, Milton stared at her confusion. Why wasn't she wearing any costume? Why was she crying?

"Wow…vintage zombie…doesn't she dress like that every day?" Eddie asked unconsciously. Milton nudged him and glared at him, beckoning for him to leave. Rolling his eyes, Eddie slowly backed away from the couple, and hid behind a bush. Milton turned to Julie taking her hand, stroking her cheek gently in comfort which only caused more tears to harshly pour down her face. He made her sit on the bench that was lying on their front porch, and rubbed her arm in comfort.

"Julie…are you okay?" He asked. "What…what happened in there?"

She shook her head vigorously, and stared at him with teary eyes. "I'm fine. Nothing happened."

But Milton could see right through that white lie that Julie was not fine at all, and that something did happen.

Something bad.

"Julie, I'm your boyfriend. Your best friend. You can trust me." Milton said soothingly. "Tell me what happened."

"Milton, please." She stood up. "I don't want to talk about it. Please, just leave me alone." And with tears raining down her cheeks, she started heading into her house, when Milton caught her arm.

"Was it something I did?" He asked with concern. "Because I would never even _think _of hurting you in any way."

All Julie did was let out a deep, trembling sigh, and wipe the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I can't go to the Halloween Bash with you tonight. I'm just too busy right now."

"Julie please—"

"Just forget it, Milton." She said sternly, her words coming out harsher than intended, with tears angrily striding down her cheeks. She then added something that probably shattered Milton's tender, vulnerable heart to a thousand pieces.

"Forget about me."

And without another word, she went inside her house.

For a minute or two, Milton didn't move. The number of emotions that was whirling around inside of him was too overwhelming for him to do anything. Anxiety. Confusion. Anger. Disappointment.

Heartbreak.

Still traumatized, Milton walked out of Julie's front porch, trying to recollect and think back what had just happened, with a number of questions reeling around in his head, trying to find an answer desperately. Why was Julie crying? Why couldn't she go to the dance? Was it something he did? Was it something he said? Does it have anything to do with him?

Did they just break up?

"Yo, it's about time that's done!" Eddie yelled cheerfully, grinning like nothing happened. He stared at Milton's sad look in confusion.

"Wait…where's Julie? Did she go change?" Eddie asked innocently. Milton glowered at him, shaking his head in disbelief.

"She's not coming." Milton said harshly. "And neither am I." Milton started walking off with a miserable look on his face, wanting to crawl into his comforters and eat buckets of falafels when Eddie caught his arm, staring at him in concern

"Whoa, dude what happened? You okay, man?" Eddie asked in concern.

"No, Eddie…I'm really not. Julie was really upset with me…like I did something wrong. Well, she came out crying and she told me to leave. I think we're…we're…"

The words couldn't even come out of his mouth. It was too surreal for him to say, with the rest of the words combined in the sentence.

"No, no come on man, don't say that. She would never break up with you. You're a really smart and kind person…sometimes a little too smart." Eddie sighed. "But Julie would be stupid to break up with you. I'm sure she was upset about something else, and she just showed it on you."

"Thanks Eddie." Milton said with a slight smile. He always knew he could count on Eddie if he needed advice. While he was obnoxious, and at times annoying, it was clear that he was always going to be there for Milton. And Milton was always going to be there for him.

"But Eddie…I think I need some time alone. The dance isn't really going to be fun without her. You just go without me."

"No!" Eddie screamed. "Please come with me! I'm going to be so bored…Jerry already bailed on me, because he got all excited from winning that bet with Grace. He got a date with her for the dance, so he completely ditched me. If you don't come, I'm going to have to go back home and deal with my sister…and the last time I was alone with her, I ended up in the hospital! Please Milton!"

Milton stared at Eddie. At first, he was ready to say no, and return home, playing cards with his grandmother or watching sappy movies and tearing up. That was his backup plan. But when staring into Eddie's pleading eyes, he felt guilty to say no.

Instead with an annoyed sigh, he nodded.

"Alright fine. Let's go have one hell of a bash."

* * *

"KIM! GET YOUR BUTT UP HERE NOW!"

Rolling her eyes at Claire's oh-so _polite _call, Kim turned the faucet off, tossed the last plate into the dishwasher, and scurried up the stairs to Claire's room. She twisted the doorknob, revealing a girl staring into a mirror, applying blush onto her face. Kim's eyes dilated in surprise as she stared at Claire's costume. Her red hair was tied into a bun, with loose curls hanging on the ends. She wore a glittery belly-dancer costume, with a shawl hiding her face, and an orange blouse with satin pants. She turned away from her mirror and faced Kim letting out a sneer.

"Seriously…_this _is your costume? A belly dancer?" Kim asked in disbelief. Claire nodded, flashing an excited grin.

"Yes. Well, look at you! Ha; well this would be a perfect costume. Coming as yourself." Claire snapped, giggling at Kim's stained hoodie with sweatpants. Kim rolled her eyes.

"Just tell me what you want." Kim retorted. "And make it quick. Your dad has a list of chores for me that I have yet to complete."

"Well, this is an emergency." Claire said. Kim eyed her a bit impatiently, tapping her foot and folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm listening."

"Does this outfit make me look fat?"

Kim rolled her eyes, and let out a frustrated sigh. She stared at Claire, with her stomach completely exposed, almost making her want to vomit. As for her, she would be caught _dead _wearing something has horrible and imperious as that.

"Really? That's why you screamed my name?"

"Just answer the question!"

"Look, if it makes you feel that insecure, why don't you just change it. How about dressing as a witch—it's the closest thing to dressing as yourself." Kim smiled triumphantly. Claire scoffed.

"Are you kidding? I would be caught dead wearing a striped hat, or a black dress." Claire laughed. "Besides, all of the popular girls are going to dress like this. Hello—Bollywood is in right now! None of us have found dates yet, obviously since the dance was announced on such short notice, so maybe with these outfits, we're sure to find some good dates." She giggled and resumed to applying makeup on her face. Kim cringed in disgust, and gave Claire a disgusted frown.

"It's going to take a lot more than some…half-naked costume to get a date. You have to actually be a person." She snapped. Claire scowled at her.

"Listen, you need to watch your—"

"Ready, Claire?"

Kim turned around, seeing Kelsey wearing a blue colored belly dancer costume, tapping her foot rather impatiently.

"Oh. Well look at what we have here, Thing 1 and Thing 2." She smirked. "Yeah, this Halloween Bash should be pretty interesting."

"Shut it, Cinder-smella. Just go back to your chores, before Daddy starts pulling your hair again." Kelsey grinned. "And wash the dojo mats, will you? I don't want to practice martial arts on the same mat as you." Kim grimaced at Kelsey, as she let out a devilish smirk. Claire giggled, and grabbed her purse.

"Anyway come on, Claire let's go. Donna's waiting outside in her dad's limo." Kelsey said. Kim stared at them with a baffled look.

"It's a Halloween Bash, not Prom." I said. "Why do you need a limo?"

"Aw, looks like someone's getting a little jealous. Don't worry…you can use the limo too…you know, if you actually start showering." And with a burst of laughter, they pranced off in their high heels, and went off in their stupid little limo. Shaking her head in disbelief, she stomped downstairs to return to the ridiculous chores that Ty had assigned her to do.

The chores that are making her miss the dance everyone was talking about.

The fact that Ty crushed another one of her hopes made her heart sink in depression. She saw the clock strike seven which was when the dance started. She rotated her eyes around the vacant house, staring at the dirty dishes, the messy rooms, and the piles of laundry that was yet to be done. A helpless, vulnerable feeling drenched her heart. When will she be allowed to do whatever she wanted? When can she do karate without having the fear of getting caught? When can she stand up to Ty?

When will she be free?

She gently took the necklace in her hands, and clutched it, with the memory of her mother coming to mind. A clear image of her mother instantly appeared in her head, but as she's never seen her father, he's nothing but a faceless figure that emerges in her mind. Yet the memory of her mom always lived with her. Every time she felt helpless, vulnerable, scared, or even alone, her mother would instantly come into mind.

"Mom. I really wish you were here."

"_THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!" _

Kim gasped, nearly jumping in fright, staring at the door like it was haunted. For a second, she thought it really was her mom. Of course, realizing the stupidity of that situation, she trudged towards the door in slight disappointment, and flung the door open, revealing none other than the only friend she's ever had.

Grace.

Kim stared in awe at Grace's Halloween costume. She wore a neon green dress with an orbit-like style, like a dress a character from the _Jetsons _would wear. Her hair was tied back into a high ponytail with a headband that had a pair of green antennas dangling on top. Her face was covered in sparkly makeup, with a frustrated frown plastered on her face. At first, Kim almost laughed at the thought of seeing _Grace _in an actual alien costume…frankly, she pictured her probably dressing in Bollywood-styled clothing just like how the other girls were dressing.

But then she realized what had happened, and why she was _really _dressed like that.

"Jerry won the bet, didn't he?" Kim laughed. Grace scowled at her.

"Don't even bring it up," She growled. "Jerry bought me this costume. He wanted me to be his 'alien wife' for Halloween."

"Aw. How cute."

"Shut up."

Kim giggled, and beckoned Grace to come inside. "Grace, what are you even doing here?" She asked. "As much as I want to hang out with you right now, I have to complete this long list of chores before Ty comes back…otherwise, he might take away school privileges too."

"Look, I came here to bring you to the dance. You're not staying behind! I know you really wanted to go to this dance and have fun for once!" Grace said. "And as your best friend, I'm not leaving to the bash without you…it won't be fun without you there. Plus—I don't want to be alone with _Jerry!" _

"That's really sweet," Kim laughed. "And I'm sorry I have to bail, but who's going to clean this mess? May I remind you I have to clean _both _Claire and Kelsey's room…and their rooms are nightmares."

Grace smiled. "I'm your best friend, right? And I always will be?"

Kim glared at her. "What did you do?"

She laughed, shifting her head to the side, and making a hand gesture to someone that was outside. Three boys sprinted to the front of the house with buckets of cleaning supplies in their hands. They all wore karate Gi's and a dull look on their faces, looking like robots to Kim. The blonde stared at Grace in utter bewilderment, as she stared at the three strangers, yet looked like nice boys that she might have passed by in the hallway at school.

"Who are they?" Kim asked.

"This is your cleaning crew," Grace grinned, gesturing towards the three boys that were standing in a perfectly straight line. "Kim, I'd like you to meet Toby, Jason, and Riley, your cleaning crew for the day. They're from my dad's dojo, and not to mention part of the Geek department. They're all in need for some extra money for college, so I was happy to give them the opportunity." Grace smiled. "Oh, and uh, let's not forget—they're single." She winked. Kim rolled her eyes, and faced Grace with hesitance.

"Grace, that's really nice of you to bring these guys but…I don't have any money to pay them." She said apologetically. "And plus, what do they know about cleaning a house as _horrible _as this?"

"What do they _know_?" Grace exasperated. "You're looking at the guys who cleaned up the _entire _science classroom in fifteen minutes after that horrible chemical explosion caused by that kid named Spencer…or as I like to call him _Splinter _the guy who destroys everything in his path."

Kim chuckled. "But what about the money?"

"Oh, I already paid them," Grace shrugged. "It's no big deal."

"Aw, Grace! You shouldn't have…I'll pay you back, I promise!" Kim screamed. She merely shrugged, and smiled, as the guys rushed inside, already working on finishing the dishes, and cleaning the kitchen.

"Just shut up! Don't even think about it…anything for a best friend." She said, patting Kim's shoulder. The blonde smiled at Grace in gratitude.

"Thanks Grace. That is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me." Kim said, meaningfully throwing her arms around her.

"You're welcome. So _now_ will you come?"

Now, Kim had a strong temptation to say 'yes', and squeal with delight, as she has the time of her life, for once. But there was one thing that prevented her from doing so, as she'd forgotten something…something that if she didn't have, would probably lead to total stupidity.

"Grace…I don't have a costume."

The alien-dressed brunette smiled somewhat devilishly at Kim, which only almost made her suspicious. Kim loved Grace with all her heart, but as she was always the plan-deviser, her schemes don't always work out the way it seemed. And the fact that she had that sheepish grin on her face made Kim grow a bit apprehensive.

"I got that covered."

* * *

"Dude, really?"

"Come on, man! Please?"

"But—"

"Please?"

Jack had never begged for something…hell, he had never begged for anything. The only thing right now that he's desperately pleading for is forgiveness from his mother, who had never said a word to him ever since the car incident. He wasn't the type to ask for things—if he wanted something, he was more than capable of doing it himself.

But this time…it was urgent.

Rubbing his hands together for warmth, Jack stood by the Bobby Wasabi Dojo, which was open even though there was nobody in there. Jack stood next to Jerry in the night sky, staring at his alien costume that was ready to go for the bash. While Jerry had forced Jack to sneak out of the house even when he was grounded, the brunet decided to make this risky trip seem a little useful.

He wanted to get back into Karate again.

"So this Rudy person…he's in there, right?" Jack asked Jerry. With a reluctant sigh, he nodded.

"Yes, but come on, man! We're late! Can't we just do this tomorrow or something?"

"Come on, Jerry! Please?" Jack begged, once again. "This might be my first and last time I'll be sneaking out, and I want to at least talk to Rudy about how it goes down there…maybe he can spare me an extra spot or something."

"How it goes down? Dude—half the time, he's crying in his office, pleading to the gods for a girlfriend!" Jerry countered. "Besides…can't you just go with your mom or something? Maybe she can inquire about it."

Jack's face had fallen, as he stared at Jerry with depression sinking into his expression. "I don't think that's going to happen, man. It'll just take five minutes, I promise!"

He let out an unwilling sigh, and bored into Jack's eyes. "Fine. Five minutes. But you better hurry…I managed to win that bet with Grace, and I am _not _going to miss that date."

"Yeah, speaking of the dance…why are you dressed like an alien?" He asked.

"Why do _you _look like you came from the nineteen fifties?" Jerry snapped, staring at Jack's costume. He wore a white t-shirt with a black leather jacket on top, with baggy jeans, sunglasses, and his long brunet hair gelled back.

"I'm a Greaser!" He said defensively. Rolling his eyes, Jack opened the doors into the martial arts studio, and saw a short, blonde man practicing some routines that he was very well familiar with. The blonde haired man stood and faced Jack with almost a giddy smile, but when looking at Jerry and his alien costume, his smile faltered.

"Well hello there." He said, holding out his hand. "My name's Rudy. Welcome to my dojo! And you are?"

"I'm Jack…I'm new here, and a friend of Jerry's actually. He told me about this place." He smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

"Ah, so you're new to San Jose. And a friend of the mutant alien—even without his costume." Rudy teased. Jack chuckled, while Jerry pouted his lip. "Well, you'd be considered lucky to train at this dojo…everything here in the Bobby Wasabi Martial Arts Academy is the best of the best!"

_CLANG!_

A metal spring flung out of the punching dummy, knocking Rudy to the moldy mats. Jack and Jerry helped him up, bringing him to his feet as Rudy had a petrified look remained on his face.

"Okay, so not _everything._" Rudy grinned sheepishly. "But trust me; this is a good place to learn martial arts. Is this your first time doing karate, Jack?"

"Well, actually I'm a black belt. But that was a long time ago…before things at our house just went crazy. But since I'll be staying in this place for more than six months, I felt that I could refresh on my memory of martial arts a little bit."

"And get this, Rudy—in school the other day, he took out _four _black dragons all by himself!" Jerry yelled gleefully.

"Four? Wow…you got skill there, man." Rudy said, high-fiving Jack. "You know, we never associate with the Black Dragons…they've been enemies with us since we both opened up our dojos for business."

"Well thanks…but that's why I came here…to learn some real self-defense techniques." Jack said, shifting uncomfortably.

"You came to the right place, then!" Rudy yelled cheerfully. "I just need you to come tomorrow with mom or dad to fill out some paperwork, and then you'll be an official Wasabi Warrior!"

Jack's excited grin slowly descended into a disappointed frown.

Bring his parents?

Bringing his father was already out of question…and if he dared to say the word "martial arts" to his mother, he would probably end up sleeping outside. How was he supposed to bring his mother to sign him up? Or even pay for the lessons? Hadn't he thought of this before?

It was obvious to Jack that he was never going to be able to get back into doing something he loves.

"Oh…well thanks anyway. It was nice meeting you, Rudy." Jack said, a bit half-heartedly. Rudy's eager beam slightly faltered once seeing Jack's disappointed look.

"I'm sorry, did I say something?" Rudy asked. He shook his head.

"No, uh…it's fine." Jack managed a smile. "I'll ask my mom if she can come tomorrow, but uh, I don't know. I guess I'll see you around Rudy."

"See you Jack. Have fun at…whatever it is you two are going to." And with a last wave, Rudy trudged into his office with a thwarted look on his face, which made Jack feel guilty. But, what could he do? He wanted to join the Bobby Wasabi Dojo, spend time with his new friends, and get to pursue a secret passion of his. And he wasn't the type to give up so easily.

But it was just too many obstacles for him to handle.

With Jerry scurrying behind him, Jack stormed out of the dojo, and started walking towards the school, when the Latino caught his arm.

"Hey man…are you okay?" Jerry asked in concern.

Was he okay?

He wanted to say no. He wanted to say his life sucked, and that all he wanted was another chance. He wanted to tell Jerry what happened between him and his mother, and what happened to his father. He wanted to tell him his life story, and why he couldn't do karate at Rudy's dojo.

But he refrained from saying all of that.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Come on…let's go meet up with your alien date."

* * *

"You have got to be freaking kidding me."

She couldn't believe what she was wearing.

The blonde had her jaws dropped, as well as her eyes amplified in shock as she stared at herself in the mirror, observing her so-called "costume". A decorated lavender shawl was pinned to her outfit so it wouldn't slip, and it covered her hair and a majority of her face, only revealing her dark brown eyes. She wore a tight, gaudy purple blouse that was intricately designed with all sorts of swirly patterns, and translucent, satin pants. Her stomach was slightly exposed, which only made her even more disgusted.

But most of all, she was wearing what her arch-enemies were wearing.

"Kim, I know you don't like it but—"

"Don't like it?" Kim roared, interrupting her friend. "I'd rather die alone than wear this!"

"But it's the only way you'll slip in unnoticed!" Grace said defensively.

"_Unnoticed?_ Yeah, because a really sparkling outfit, and an exposed stomach wouldn't go _unnoticed_." She snapped.

"I meant that you'll blend in with all the other girls dressed like this! Well, the popular girls anyway," Grace shuddered. "By doing that, Donna, Kelsey and Claire won't even know it's you. Trust me, I planned out everything."

"But are you sure this is going to work?" She asked hesitantly, staring at the outfit again.

"I'm positive. I can't even recognize you right now, and I've known you my entire life." She chuckled. "And come on—with that outfit, you'll attract a few guys."

Kim cringed in disgust, as Grace let out a wink. She reluctantly sighed, allowing Grace to drag her out of the house, leaving the three boys to finish cleaning the mess that had still existed. While the blonde had an uneasy, anxious feeling churning up in her stomach, she also had an elated feeling mixed in, as she was finally gaining the chance to go to the dance and have fun like she planned on doing.

But from her past experiences, Kimberly Crawford knew that those two emotions don't mix well together.

* * *

"So, are you having fun?"

All Jack did was continue to sip on his fruit punch, or as it was so-called, "Dracula's Drink", avoiding Jerry's question. He stared at Jerry with his stupid alien costume and sheepish grin, who's eyes were scanning the entire gymnasium, searching for a girl in a similar alien costume as him.

The brunet scanned the gymnasium, seeing all sorts of ridiculous costumes…he found it odd that a majority of the girls were dressed in belly-dancer costumes, and he found it even more odd how many of the guys were staring in a perverted way. The rock music was pounding in his ears, as well as the excited chatter flowing throughout the room. Colorful lights were rotating around the semi-dark room, so Jack could only catch glimpses of the Halloween-themed decorations. He could also catch glimpses of the amused smiles flowing through everybody's faces, as well as Jerry's.

Jack, however, was not amused.

His mind couldn't seem to come off of the fact that he couldn't do karate. How badly he wanted to train with their worn-out dummies, practice routines on their moldy mats, cherish the feeling of being able to wear a karate Gi and have a black belt wrapped around his waist.

Everything shattered.

Damn his complications.

"So, is your date going to be here soon, or…?"

"She'll be here…I hope." Jerry said unconfidently. "I won that bet fair and square, so she better be here!"

"Wait, isn't Grace close with Kim?" Jack asked, a bit hopefully.

"Yeah…but Kim barely ever shows up to dances…or anything really." Jerry said. "I mean, she did say earlier today that she was super excited about it, so I don't know."

"Oh." Jack said, another one of his hopes crushing to the ground.

"Why do you care? Do you want her to come?" Jerry said, raising an eyebrow challengingly. Jack shook his head vigorously.

"No! What are you talking about? I don't like Kim! That's just…just—"

"Dude, shut up! She's here!"

_Kim? _

Jack spun around, coming face-to-face with a girl wearing a scowl on her face as she pulled down her short neon-green dress. She stared at Jerry, and rolled her eyes. Jack assumed from the alien costume and the frustrated frown on her face that she was Jerry's date.

"Hey Grace!" Jerry said cheerfully. "Looking great tonight!"

"Just shut up." Grace snapped. "Let's just get this over with. This costume is embarrassing enough, and now I'm forced to spend my Friday night with _you._"

"Well, welcome aboard the Jerry train, then!" He said. Jack could infer that Jerry was just trying to purposely annoy Grace. And it seemed to be working. Her eyes trailed on Jack, and she looked at him in slight confusion.

"You're the new kid, right?" She asked. "Jack?"

"Uh, yeah, hi. Nice to meet you."

"Not to be rude or anything, but what's up with your costume?" She laughed slightly, looking at him.

"I'm a Greaser! Why can't anyone see that?" He whined. Grace laughed, and rolled her eyes.

"Well, have fun trying to get girls with that costume. If you need me, I'll be taking a trip down to hell." She growled, glaring at Jerry.

"Wait, do you know if Kim's going to be here?" Jack blurted. Her eyes slightly widened, darting them this way and that.

"No. Why? Do you see her?" She asked a bit frantically. Jack shook his head in confusion.

"I don't see her—that's why I asked you." He said, chuckling a bit uncomfortably.

"Well, she's not coming, she's uh…sick from the frog juice that Donna spilled on her face. Yeah, apparently some of it went in her mouth."

"But, I thought the nurse said—"

"Uh, come on Jerry, let's get on the dance floor!" Grace squealed, grabbing Jerry's hand, rushing away from Jack. The Latino stared at Jack with an excited grin, as she was pulling him away.

"She _so _digs me!" Jerry squealed. Jack chuckled slightly, as Grace pulled him into the dance floor. He couldn't help but find that conversation with her a bit…peculiar. Shrugging it off, he awkwardly stood there alone, taking one last sip of the fruit punch, ready to leave, and sneak back into his home.

"Hey Jack!"

The brunet twisted his head around coming face-to-face with a girl who he wasn't too auspicious in seeing. Her sandy brown hair was tied up in a bun, with lose curls dangling out, and just like many of the other girls, was wearing a belly dancer costume, the only difference being that the color of it was pink. As Jack wasn't the kind to stare at girls in a perverted kind of way, he wanted to throw up at the sight of her. She had a flirty grin plastered on her face, her hand on Jack's arm, which only made him feel a little uncomfortable.

"Hi Donna…uh, nice costume." He struggled to say. She giggled, remaining a satisfied smile on her face.

"Thanks." Donna said. "So, you want to dance? I mean, you are my date and all."

Jack flinched at the sound of him being Donna's _date _to the dance. While he indirectly agreed to go with her earlier today in Biology, he had almost forgotten about the date, hoping she wasn't legit with this…

But now she's asked him to dance with her.

"Sure, but I'm just going to go get some more punch, so you just go and I'll catch up to you." He smiled.

"Okay. See you on the dance floor, Jackie-poo." She giggled, and sauntered off into the dance floor to catch up with her friends.

_Jackie-poo?_

What had he gotten himself into?

Shaking his head in irritation, Jack walked over to the snacks table, to get something to eat or drink before he takes a trip down to hell as well. While he was filling his punch, he saw another girl standing by the table, with her head down, wearing a purple-colored belly dancer outfit, which only made Jack more frustrated. That's it—if he sees another girl in a belly dancer costume, he's going to kill himself.

"Not you too." Jack mumbled to the girl, trying to start a conversation. He saw the girl, not even bothering to lift her head up. Jack couldn't even recognize her, since her entire head was covered in a shawl.

"Trust me, I don't want to wear this." He heard her say. "It's absolutely demeaning."

"Then why are you wearing it?"

"Long story." She sighed. She finally chose to look up, and the only thing that Jack could see was her doe-like brown eyes shimmering under the lights. Her entire face was covered which made her completely incognito. But there was something about her that was extremely familiar…he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Nice costume." She complimented. "Let me guess—Greaser? From the fifties?"

"Yes!" Jack exclaimed, smiling at her. "Thank you! At least _somebody _knows what I'm dressed as!"

Even though her lips were covered, he could still see a smile playing on her lips as she stared at him. He had suddenly felt like he'd known the girl for a long time…that he could tell her anything if something was on his chest.

Like right now.

"You seem a little upset about something." She said, studying his face. "Is it because you no longer want to look at my horrible costume?"

He chuckled. "No, it's not that. It's just…I have too many obstacles in my life, and it's not letting me do what I want to do."

Wow. He's so desperate, he's talking to strangers about his personal issues.

He expected a reply from the girl that he barely knew being were along the lines of "why are you telling me this?" or even "TMI".

"Who said they were stopping you?"

Jack faced the girl, surprised that her reply was so different than what he had expected. It was as if they've known each other for so long, but he didn't even know her name.

"Well—"

"Don't let some…complications stop you from doing what you want to do. If it's something you really want, then go for it. Don't make the same mistake that I—I mean others—do."

He stared into her eyes for a second, and they were filled with…hope, was it? No…dread?

Who was this girl?

"But how can I—"

"Try and overcome them."

Jack's eyes tore away from the girl for a second, trying to process in the advice that she'd given him, advice that he should've figured out for himself.

_Overcome them._

"I…wow…thanks." He stuttered. "But, I didn't even get your name…"

He turned around¸ but his voice trailed off, when his eyes were greeted into lights.

Just lights.

It took a while for Jack to realize the bone-crushing, depressing reality.

She was gone.

**::**

_How long is this dance? _

Jack glanced at his watch, seeing that the time was 11:15, and to the other kids, it seemed that the night was still young. He didn't have to worry about his mother trying to find him, as she was working the night shift. But he desperately wanted to leave this place. He was half-heartedly dancing with Donna, trying not to look at her and horrible outfit, but instead trying to divert himself by seeing what his friends were up to.

The brunet managed to catch a glimpse of Jerry and Grace, who seemed to be having fun dancing together. He could even manage to see a smile curving on Grace's lips, as she put her hand on Jerry's shoulder, laughing at something he said. Next to them stood Eddie who was dancing like there was no tomorrow with some other girl Jack hadn't quite recognized. He saw Milton chewing on some cookies with a bored look on his face, which made Jack feel a bit more satisfied—at least he wasn't the only one who was bored out of their mind.

But no matter where Jack looked, he was never able to see the girl with the purple costume.

"You okay, Jackie?"

Jack turned towards Donna who was rubbing his arm, at an attempt to comfort him. Honestly, with the aroma of sweat lurking among the gym, the bad taste in music, and the person he was dancing with, Jack wasn't okay at all.

"I'm actually not feeling so good." The brunet said. "I think I need some air."

"Okay. Well hurry back!" She said with a smile.

With an awkward thumbs-up, Jack sprinted out of the gym, and out of the school building, into the chill October breeze. He panted heavily, partially in relief that he was finally away from that place.

Finally away from Donna.

The brunet rested his head against the cold, rocky wall in exhaustion, shutting his eyes, trying to process in everything that's happened in the past couple of hours.

"Hello Jack."

With a gasp, Jack turned around coming face-to-face with four very familiar boys that were crowded around him. All wearing menacing grins on their faces.

And all wearing red Gi's that had the "Black Dragon Martial Arts Academy" logo printed on them.

"I believe we have some unfinished business to take care of."

* * *

**A/N- DUN. DUN. DUUNN. Okay, so you guys are probably thinking that I might have copied LetTheMindRunWild's idea on this chapter from her story Another Cinderella Story, but I assure you that I already asked her permission if I could use this as it was similar to hers, since this a Cinderella!fic and she was okay with it. Just letting you all know. **

**Anyway, I had to stop there, since this chapter was getting too long. I know the Kick has been pretty minimal lately, but trust me, there WILL be some major Kick in the next few chapters! So what did you think of it? There are some mysteries going on here…what happened to Julie? Is MILLIE done? Did Grace actually have a good time with Jerry? What will happen with Jack? Will Kim get revealed? **

**A bunch of questions—I hope to hear your thoughts through a review. I'd really appreciate a review, considering I had to step outside for this and climb to the roof for better signal (there were stairs, so don't worry) and let's not mention where I am right now is completely mosquito-infested. So a review would be really great! **

**Thanks guys! Until next time!**

**~Taylor **


	4. Who's My Love?

**A/N-Hey guys. This is Taylor, back with my update on OUAD. So, if you've read my news from my last update on The Hunt, yes I will be leaving Fanfiction, and I just want to say thank you guys for all the wishes, and continuing to read my stories. A lot of you requested for me to keep writing and here's what I'm going to say: I'm as disappointed about it as you are. But, maybe from time-to-time I'll reappear with a few one-shots. As for this story, I'm not sure what's going to happen—school starts for me on September 7****th****, but luckily I'll be allowed to finish this, and by then I'm aiming to be almost done, with only a few more chapters…but I can assure you this WON'T be as long as The Hunt. Thing is updates will be crazy slow, so try not to forget this story? **

**Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Kickin' It, Cinderella or Another Cinderella Story (events that occur in this chapter are based from the movie).**

* * *

She wasn't having as much fun as she anticipated.

Hiding from practically everyone, and strolling through the gymnasium incognito isn't the way you'd want to enjoy a high school dance, especially when you're dressed in outlandish costumes. The fact that Kim couldn't even enjoy this dance with her best friend bored her the most. Of course, she wouldn't come in between her date with Jerry—by the looks of it, Grace seemed to actually be enjoying it.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying it except her.

She started to ponder the thought of listening to Grace and escaping the household to be a bad idea. Maybe she should've stayed home cleaning, where she would've been at least been safe, without having to worry about Ty strangling her to death But then again—this was her first night out. Even though she wasn't having the best time, at least she was away from being treated like a dish mop. Someone unimportant. Going out by herself, for once made her feel independent. For once, she didn't felt inferior.

And that talk she had with Jack was pretty nice.

The blonde made her way towards the exit doors where she could see the light better. She brought her watch closer to her eyes, so she could see how much time she had left until she had to rush back to her house before Ty does.

_11:45. _

_Shit. _

She sprinted towards the dance floor, searching for a girl with the fake antennae's popping out of her head. Immediately spotting her, she rushed towards her, seeing her laugh at something Jerry might have said.

"Grace!" Kim hissed.

Grace faced Kim, her amused grin slightly faltering at Kim's frantic expression. Jerry stared at the blonde in confusion, trying to figure out who she was. She kept her head down, nudging on Grace's hand.

"Excuse me," Grace said, and with a last smile, she scurried off with Kim to the end of the gym where no one could hear her.

Until Kim bumped into someone.

She nearly fell to the ground, her shawl almost falling out of her head, until Grace caught her. Re-adjusting it back onto her head, she came face-to-face with three girls who had scowls on their faces. Kim could recognize that it was Donna, Kelsey and Claire all staring at her with full hate, like they knew that it was her under the costume.

She kept her mouth shut.

"Watch where you're going, you freak!" The one in the pink hissed. She could instantly recognize that it was Donna, who was staring at her like she was some mutant creature.

"You look really familiar." Kelsey said. "Like, you totally remind me of someone. She looks like Emma Stone!"

She put her head down, covering her shawl over her head even tighter; nearly laughing at the thought that Kelsey thought she was Emma Stone. Then again, the fact that that statement came from Kelsey wasn't so surprising.

"Shut up Kelsey," Claire said in annoyance. "How stupid can you get?"

"Maybe you wouldn't mind if we took a look." Donna said, reaching for Kim's shawl. Immediately, Grace clutched her hand hard, preventing her from making any movement.

"You touch Emma's shawl, we sue you." Grace snapped.

They all looked appalled and utterly baffled, and before they could say anything, Kim and Grace sprinted away, making their way towards the exit. Kim shut the door, and came face-to-face with Grace in the hallway.

"That was way too close," Kim panted

"What happened?" Grace said impatiently. "You cut into my Jerry time!"

"Wait…you actually liked it?" Kim raised an eyebrow.

"Just answer the question!" She screamed, her cheeks turning red.

"Grace, it's a quarter to midnight! And Ty gets home at _midnight_! I need to get home before he does, otherwise, you'll be seeing this shawl on my gravestone!"

"Midnight?" Grace said, her face darkening.

"What happened?" She yelled frantically.

"Well, the dance is over at midnight. I don't have a ride back home until then…my parents don't come to pick us up until then. They're on one of their stupid 'date nights' again."

"_WHAT?_"

"I'm sorry! I didn't know he was coming back at exactly _midnight!" _

"Then…I have to go now! If I run home, I might make it in time!" She screamed, starting to sprint towards the exit.

"Wait!" Grace said, clutching her arm. "Let me come with you."

"No, it's okay. Go have fun with Jerry. But thanks for everything." And with a last reassuring smile, Kim raced off towards the exit, ignoring the calls coming from her friend. She was hoping of getting home with a semi-peaceful mind, having to encourage herself that she'll make it home in time every five seconds. While it might have seemed a bit unlikely, the blonde tried to maintain a positive attitude that all would go well, and Ty would never know.

But when she opened the exit doors of the school building, she met an unexpected surprise.

* * *

The air was slowly escaping from his throat.

His entire body was pinned against the wall by the four boys, as if his arms and legs were glued on the stony wall, preventing him from making any movement. Still, the brunet struggled to release from Frank's rigid grasp, as his beefy hand seized his neck tightly. He could hear the four Black Dragon boys cackling away, as they watched him struggle to fight or even breathe. His right eye throbbed painfully from the punches he'd received by one of the four idiots, as well as dry blood lingering below his nose. The oxygen refrained from going down his throat¸ which made the brunet to grow incredibly weak.

But most of all, the fact that Jack Anderson wasn't able to fight or make any sort of movement shocked him.

Haunted him.

"Let…go…" He managed to say shakily.

"Consider it your lesson learned." Frank grunted with a malicious smile. "This is what you get for humiliating us."

"Any last words, _Anderson?" _

All he did was wince and moan in pain, deeply regretting that he snuck out of the house.

"How about I say it for him?"

Those words didn't come out from any of the guys.

The boys spun their heads, coming face-to-face with a familiar girl that Jack was having trouble recognizing. A purple shawl covered the majority of her face, as well as her hair, and she wore a violet belly-dancer costume, glaring at the Black Dragons like they were fresh meat. But Jack couldn't take his eyes off of her.

_Wasn't she that girl he talked to earlier today at the dance? _

"Aw, is this your girlfriend?" Frank said, pinching Jack's cheeks, the grip on his neck slightly loosening. He was too drained, too vulnerable to even throw a punch at the kid. His arms and legs felt like jelly, and he felt like he was going to lose consciousness.

But it looks he didn't need to do anything.

Without another word, the girl leapt in the air and kicked Frank in the stomach, causing him, as well as Jack, to fall to the ground. For a second, Jack stared at the only exposed part of her face, her eyes, and they were filled with surprise. Frank glared at her in shock, as he clutched his stomach, wincing in pain as he lied on the floor.

"Get her!" He screamed.

Chaos arose, as the three boys charged in her direction, throwing a chorused punch right in her face. The girl ducked. Jack stared at the epic fight scene in awe as well exhaustion as his right eye was throbbing from the punch Frank had thrown him. He saw the girl rise back up, blocking their punches and kicks with her hands. She jumped in the air, performing a roundhouse kick, which knocked all the three of the guys like dominos, as they tumbled to the ground, one by one. The curly-haired boy finally bundled up the strength to rise, and he glared at the girl menacingly.

"Who are you?" He demanded.

_That's what I'd like to know as well, _Jack thought.

She rushed over to him, grabbed his clenched his fist, and flipped him to the floor once more, pinning him to the ground.

"Your worst nightmare," She snapped, leaning closer towards the boy's frightened face. "Now, I could continue to beat the crap out of you guys, and maybe even call the teachers…or you and your karate boys could run home, quit bothering him, and we'll pretend this never happened. So what's it going to be?"

Frank struggled to stand up, which immediately was followed by his three friends getting up, as they clutched their bruised arms and legs. With a last glare at the fearless girl, they started walking towards Jack, giving him a menacing grin.

"This isn't over," Frank grinned at Jack. "We'll finish this soon, new kid."

Too sore to even narrow his eyes threateningly at them, Frank and his boys gave him a couple of last punches and kicks before they scurried off, leaving Jack on the ground, his stomach starting to churn violently, and his head feeling like the world's weight was on top of it. The brunet started inhaling deeply for air, trying to keep his eyes open¸ but he knew that soon enough, his body was going to sleep for a while.

He could make out a violet figure rushing towards him, leaning closer and staring at him right in the eye. Her lavender shawl seemed to have fallen out of her head, and Jack could see her messy blonde hair falling on top of him.

"Are you okay?" He heard her ask. White spots started to appear in his vision, before she could even see the girl's face.

"Jack? Can you hear me?"

How does she know his name?

"_Hey…do you guys hear that? I think it's coming from outside…" _

Jack Anderson's eyes could no longer take the light. His body rested on the cold pavement, and he took one last look at the girl that saved his life. She stared at him for a long moment; their faces inches apart, and with a guilty look, she stood up with frantic eyes and ran off into the night.

He felt something hit his face, his eyes blinded by a gleaming metal…silver, it appeared to be.

But the brunet couldn't examine it further.

Numbness began to dominate his body, as white spots started to fill his vision. The silver object became too overwhelming for him to see.

Everything became too overwhelming for him to see.

As his eyes were greeted into a sea of darkness.

* * *

_11:58._

The blonde sprinted as fast as she could, panting in slight relief as she could finally see her house at the far end of the block. The cold autumn wind rushed through her hair, and her lavender shawl began to escape from her face, making her body shiver under the chillness of San Jose—which quite frankly wasn't normal. Her worn-out sandals shuffled nervously through the pavement, with the lampposts being her only source of light in the midnight sky. The epic scene from only ten minutes before wouldn't stop replaying in her mind, with the Black Dragon boys, the intensity of the situation…

And more importantly Kimberly Crawford's first fight.

She could still picture herself there, staring at the boys, her mind at ease without having to worry about anything else, as her fearless reflexes dominated her body, taking down the boys like they were nothing. That exhilarating, intrepid feeling of being able to scare them away, being able to defeat them for the first time ever, made the corner of her lips twitch into a small smile.

All those years of spying on Ty's classes and secretly practicing…it looks like they paid off.

She had just _saved _someone.

The image of a defeated, bruised Jack made her stomach stir apprehensively in guilt. She regretted leaving Jack there unconscious and all alone.

But what choice did she have?

_11:59. _

The blonde raced through the corner, seeing the entrance of the White Mansion. She fished through her pockets, searching for the keys to the main gate.

When she realized she didn't have any pockets.

Kim muttered curses under her breath, remembering that she'd given the keys to Grace before the dance had started. She didn't even have her cellphone with her.

She didn't have anything.

_I'm so dead, I'm so dead, I'm so dead, I'm so—_

"Kim!"

She yelped in surprise, and spun around coming face-to-face with a brunette alien a girl that she was oh-so relieved to see.

Kim always knew this girl was her savior.

"Grace! You came!"

"Hell yeah I did…I got you in this mess and I'm going to get you out." Grace said, with a smile. She dug through her purse, and took out the keys, shoving them into the keyhole, and unlocking the gate. Before she could swing open the metal-barred gate, she saw a blinding light shining on the black, metal doors. They both jerked their heads up, seeing a black Lamborghini slide into the driveway.

Ty's Lamborghini.

Kim glanced at her watch.

_12:00. _

"Crap! Ty's back! What do I do now?" Kim hissed.

"Leave it to me. I'll distract him…you just get inside, get Toby, Jason and Riley out, and change your clothes too."

"Will I have enough time?"

"One can only hope!" Grace squealed. "Now move it!"

Avoiding Ty as he got out of his car, barking some nonsense with someone on the phone, Kim jabbed the keys into the front door, and bursted inside, praying that she'll have enough time to get the boys out, and slip into some PJ's before Ty comes home.

Right now, Grace was her only hope.

* * *

"Hey Mr. White!"

"Ugh…what are you?"

"I'm Grace, Kim's friend."

"And what are you doing in my home? Dressed like that? Wait…is that a costume? Did you take Kim to that Halloween party?"

"No, of course not! I uh…came to see you!"

"See me? And why is that?"

"Um…"

* * *

She stared at the pristine house in awe, impressed by the work that was done by only three boys. Toby, Jason, and Riley walked down the stairs calmly, smiling flirtatiously at Kim. Rolling her eyes, she stared at them frantically, making ferocious hand gestures for them to come down faster. The blonde grabbed their hands, shoving them through the back door.

"You guys need to leave! Now! My stepdad's coming! You need to leave without him or anyone seeing, got it?"

"Wait, what you do think of the place? Do you like it? We worked extra hard on it for you," One of the boys giggled.

"Yeah, yeah it looks fantastic. He's going to love it! NOW GET OUT!"

"Wait!" One of the boys screamed, stopping in his tracks.

"What?" She barked.

"Will you go out with me?"

"NO!"

* * *

"I asked you a question little freaky alien girl, and if you're not going to answer me, then I should be getting inside—"

"What kind of a car is that?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your car? What kind is it? Because dude, that is one sweet car! I mean, I'll be turning sixteen soon, so once I get my license, my parents said I can get any kind of car I want—"

"I don't care about your back-story! And it's a Lamborghini, so now that I've answered your question—"

"Wait! Don't go! Let's uh…let's hang out! I mean, I just got this new basketball court—"

"Excuse me, but I'm forty-five years old, and you're fifteen. Do the math. I would never _hang out_ with you. You're a kid!"

"Hey, it's me or your shaving cream, old man."

"OUT OF MY WAY!"

* * *

The door busted open, revealing a frustrated man wearing a blood-red karate Gi, that Kim instantly recognized as she observed him from behind a corner. He darted his head this way and that, examining the knick-knacks he had, the couches, and the carpets to see if they were crystal clear.

And as far as Kim was concerned, she knew they were.

"KIM!"

She raced down the stairs, coming face-to-face with a flustered looking Ty. She managed to put on a tight smile, pulling her hoodie further down so he wouldn't see the blouse underneath.

"Hi Uncle Ty. How was the tournament?"

"That doesn't require your concern!" He boomed. "And why was your friend here? She had a very peculiar conversation with me."

"Oh, was she here? I, uh, didn't know that—she must have planned to surprise visit or something. "

Ty narrowed his eyes at Kim, as if he knew that she'd snuck out. "Your stupid friends are no longer allowed to step in anywhere near this house. I told you I don't want people knowing you live here. Understood?"

Kim reluctantly nodded, secretly rolling her eyes. "Understood."

"But I must confess…the house looks remarkably clean. I'm surprised you cleaned this so well in just a few short hours."

"Yeah, thanks." She muttered.

He narrowed his eyes once more, staring at Kim's outfit skeptically. "Why are you wearing purple satin pants?"

Her eyes darted towards the pants that were a part of her costume, and bit her lip. "Uh…just a part of my pajamas. It's really lose and comfortable."

He gave a reluctant nod, not taking his eyes off the pants. "Your pajamas are always so hideous, it's like you've been living on the street. Wait…" His eyes trailed to the door by the kitchen and rushed towards it, seeing the door ajar. His eyes distended in anger, as he shot a look towards Kim.

"Why is the back door open?" He roared.

"Uh…" Kim began, cursing at herself. "The floors wouldn't dry, and I didn't want anyone slipping…so I opened the door for some fresh air."

"How can you be so stupid to leave it open at this time of the night? Do you know how many burglaries occur right now?"

_Yes Kim, how can you be so stupid to leave the backdoor open? _

"I'm sorry Uncle Ty…I won't do it again."

And that statement was true.

He sighed, and collapsed on the couch, turning on his 60 inch plasma screen T.V. "Alright, well…that's all for today. Go to your room, and get some rest. I'm having my students come over for lunch tomorrow, just a little celebration party, so I expect you to make something good. I'm in the mood for steak!"

"Wait…so you guys won?"

His face flushed into depression and anger and he gave Kim nothing but a scowl.

"Again, that is none of your business. Now go to your room." He snapped. Rolling her eyes, and clenching her teeth, Kim rushed up the two flights of stairs, and sprinted into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her, and panting a huge sigh of relief as she rested against the wooden door.

That was _way_ too close.

She got out of her revolting costume in a calmer mood, and changed into her _real _pajamas, throwing the belly dancer costume aside, not even wanting to look at that thing anymore. She dashed towards her window and opened it up, climbing out of her room and onto the small patio that Ty hadn't known even existed in the attic. She always came to this place, if she needed some time to think, to relax, or even enjoy the fresh breeze that would enlighten her mood in an instant. It allowed her to disconnect from the house, from Ty, from her horrible life…sometimes, she could even pretend that she was living a normal life with her mother, the glorious life she had before that horrible night where everything had changed.

Gingerly leaning her elbow on the railings, Kim rested her chin on the palm of her hand, staring at the moon and the stars all accumulating the midnight sky. She reached for her necklace, trying to grab the pendant with her mom's name etched on it, in the hopes that it would simmer her down, so that she could gain the feeling of companionship, that her mother was right next to her.

When Kim realized she couldn't hold the pendant.

Why?

Because it wasn't there.

Tearing her eyes away from the view, Kim's frantic eyes darted towards her neck, searching for her mom's name, the chain, the necklace…

It was gone.

The blonde frantically raced inside her bedroom, searching for her mirror, wondering if maybe she was hallucinating, but as soon as she caught her reflection, she was looking at a girl with no necklace wrapped around her neck…no pendant that said "Haley".

For a moment, Kim felt it was as if she was looking at a stranger.

She reached for her costume, shifting through it to see if possibly the necklace got caught in the gaudiness of the costume. She was even tempted to rip it apart, rip her entire room apart to find that necklace.

But it took a while for Kim to register the cold, depressing truth.

The only physical remembrance of her mom…her only hope of companionship, of sanity, of courage…

Everything gone.

From one night.

And one mistake.

Kicking a box in frustration, Kim collapsed onto her bed, burying her face in her pillow, with a muffled scream of anger and shame coming out. Did it fall at the dance? Maybe it might have ended up in the lost and found. Or maybe it fell on the street? Or it might have fallen when she was coming inside the house?

What's the point?

She finally chose to breathe, staring right at her demented, wooden ceiling, with tears sliding down her cheeks. A distorted image of her mother appeared in her mind, which made her to shut her eyes tight, so she could shut out the world.

Because all Kim Crawford was feeling right now was utter shame.

"Mom…where are you?"

* * *

He opened his eyes, coming face-to-face with a woman he wasn't too delighted to see.

Jack found himself in his own bed, looking around to see his messed up, slightly small room. His arms and legs still throbbed from the fight, but thankfully the pain wasn't as severe as when he was being beaten up. He could see a few little stiches here and there, and he noticed an eye patch covering the bruised eye from the fight. But in the other eye, he could clearly see his mother; her auburn hair was messed up as she wore a professional suit, looking at him with teary eyes. As soon as she saw his eyes open, she brought him into a tight embrace, choking out tears and stifles of relieved laughter.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" She sniffed, squeezing Jack as hard as she could. He was almost worried if she was never going to let him go. "I got a call from the school, and I had to ditch my night shift at the office and I rushed over here seeing you all bloody and unconscious, and your heartbeat was low and—"

"Mom!" Jack yelled, pulling away from her tight embrace. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Really…nothing hurts anymore."

Now that the tears have finished pouring out of her eyes, she had a scowl plastered on her face, staring at Jack like she was ready to give him a beating. "I told you that you were grounded, and that you were to stay in the house until my shift ends. _Not_ disobey me by sneaking out of the house, going to some dance and getting into your_ second_ fight in a row!"

"I'm sorry, okay?" He said, resting his head on the pillow. "First of all, Jerry was the one who made me sneak out of the house. I didn't even want to go to that stupid dance in the first place, but I went for him. And I didn't start the fight. Those guys just came out of nowhere, beating the crap out of me! I didn't even get the chance to throw one punch at them!"

She shook her head, burying her face in her hands. "Don't try and defend yourself Jack. I'm so disappointed in you. I thought that you would finally change in this place!"

"I am trying to change!" He defended.

"And look at you now." She said, with a disappointed frown.

"You know, I would've been able to defend myself better if I went back into martial arts." He attempted.

"Don't try and change the subject." She hissed. "I didn't think you would turn out to be like this. I thought you would be a good kid, just a normal kid. But judging by what happened today, I was wrong. At this rate, I might have to quit going to work and babysit you."

A rush of guilt washed over him, as he stared at his mother with forgiving eyes. Her worried, depressed expression made Jack feel remorse, as he sat up, and took his mother's hands in his, looking at her straight in the eyes.

Jack felt his mother well deserved this apology.

"Mom…I'm really, _really _sorry." He said. "For everything. I didn't mean to put you through all this chaos…I guess I am just a troubled kid. But please don't quit work…we barely have enough money as it is, and sometimes I just forget that. But, I promise from now on, I'll control myself, and I'll never disobey you, or do anything that'll disappoint you…ever."

She gave a small smile, pulling him into a hug. "I just want you to be safe. And you're not a troubled kid…I can understand what you're going through…with the way your father left…"

He winced at the sound of hearing his father once again.

"…But I appreciate your promise. I just hope you won't break it." She sighed.

"I promise I won't." Jack smiled. She laughed.

"Alright then," She said, patting his shoulder comfortingly. "I'll let you rest. It's really late, and I should probably head back to work and complete my shift, so my boss doesn't fire me." She sighed, starting to head off.

While most of Jack's memory of the dance was a bit distorted from his slight head concussion, he could still remember the mysterious girl he'd conversed with, the one who was extremely familiar to Jack…

The one who had saved his life.

He wanted to thank her for defending him, see her concealed face and smile, or just even talk with her again. The fact that he'd only talked with her for five minutes seemed a bit stupid of him to want to spend more time with her…

But for some reason, Jack Anderson just couldn't stop thinking about her.

The five minute conversation replayed in his head, with the words that she'd told him swirling around his head like an angry tornado.

"_Don't let some…complications stop you from doing what you want to do. If it's something you really want, then go for it."_

This was risky, but Jack knew what he had to do.

"Wait, mom?"

His mom spun around, facing Jack with concerned eyes.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine, I just need to ask you something." He said, with pleading eyes.

"Alright. What is it, hon?"

"Well, I know you're going to say no, and I know we're not the richest people right now, but there's this new dojo at the strip mall…the Bobby Wasabi Martial Arts Academy, and the place is really good. The sensei is really nice, and he looks just about your age—"

"Jack, what are you saying?" She questioned, folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm saying I want to join there."

She gave me a blank stare, opening her mouth as if she was about to say something, when he cut her off.

"Mom, I know that you never liked me doing martial arts, partially because I reminded you of dad…but I really want to get back into martial arts, because it'd be a link back to my old life, before everything went downhill. Martial arts is the _one_ thing I'm really good at, and I promise I won't get into any more fights. I always wanted to go back ever since, but I was always afraid of what you would say…but I'm not going to let that stop me from doing something I really want to do. And_ this_ is something that I _really _want to do."

His mother gave a sigh, her mind seeming to be in a deep train of thought, as Jack stared at her willingly. For a second, it looked like she was going to say no, or even scream at him, considering he's already been in two fights.

But instead she met his eyes once more, and stared at them.

She stared at him really well.

And let out another sigh.

"Okay. We'll go over there and sign you up tomorrow."

The brunet couldn't believe his ears. Had they been tricking him?

"Wait, what?"

"If it's something you really want to do, then as a mother, I should support it. Now, don't get too excited…we'll discuss more about this tomorrow. Right now, all you need is some rest. And some ice for that black eye. Goodnight Jack." And with a smile and a flying kiss, she shut off the lights to his bedroom, and walked away, leaving a stunned Jack lying on his bed, with a smile creeping on his face.

He was finally getting to do the thing he loved since he was little kid.

All thanks to that girl.

Crying a _"Yes!" _in his head, Jack shifted to the side, finally being able to rest in peace. All seemed to be going well in his world, him finally being cool with his mother, finally being able to pursue his passion, and he was even feeling better by the minute—

"_Ow!" _

He felt something prick his chest, as he lied on his stomach, trying to sleep. Jack immediately rose from his bed, finding himself still in his Greaser costume from the party. He started patting his chest, seeing if there was anything on it, when he felt a slight bump bulging out of the little pocket on his leather jacket. Puzzled, Jack reached into the pocket, and pulled out something that certainly didn't belong to him.

It was a necklace.

Shocked, he flipped the switch to his night lamp on. The sterling silver necklace was shining under the light, slightly blinding his eyes. Jack could see a long pendant with the name "Haley" etched on it with silver gems formulating the letters.

_Who's Haley? _

Jack pondered the idea of Haley being the name of the girl who had saved him, the girl who had helped him gain his passion back.

But Jack never recalled a girl named "Haley" in his sophomore class—and honestly, it was quite small.

So had this necklace belonged to the girl?

He remembered a shiny, silver object hitting his face before he had collapsed….

This necklace must have been that silver object.

He safely kept it in his drawer, shutting it and locking it firmly. Taking off the leather jacket, he shut off the lights and collapsed onto his pillow.

Now Jack was even more curious.

Whoever that girl was, and with the help of the necklace, Jack Anderson was determined to find that girl.

The girl that saved his life.

And his passion.

* * *

Ty White was a mess.

Sitting with his students in his conference room, he chewed on the steak that Kim had prepared for all of them, which he frankly wasn't too pleased with. This entire weekend, he noticed that the girl was in somewhat of a mood, moving through the hallways absolutely glum, doing the work he had assigned her in a more frustrated, agonizing manner.

Teenagers.

Shrugging it off, Ty faced his students, who had bruises scattered all over their body, staring at him weakly. He's seen his advanced class like this for a couple of days now, and the thought of that started to worry him. Their little injuries have been causing them to lose terribly.

What's happening to his students?

"Great food, Ty." Frank said, with a thumbs-up.

He rolled his eyes. "Focus! I gathered you all here so we could discuss our unfortunate failure from yesterday. That was our fifth loss in a row, and if we don't win our next match, we'll be forced to kiss the Black Dragon Martial Arts Academy goodbye."

The thought of that left his head to ache uncontrollably in stress.

"What about your other classes?" His other student, Josh said with salad stuffed in his mouth. "You know the ones with your daughters? How are they doing?"

"I don't really mind them." Ty waved it off dismissively. "You know they're beginners. They're not even competing yet…it's you guys I'm concerned about. You're my only advanced class, and if you guys don't take home the next trophy, I'm forced to close the place up."

"Yeah, can I skip practice on Monday?" Ty's shortest student, Nelson groaned. "My arm's dislocated and—"

"You guys are whimps!" Ty roared, standing up from his seat. "You're all letting some little injuries stop you from winning! What happened to you guys anyway? I've seen you in bruises and bandages for the past three days now!"

"It's that stupid new kid that's humiliating us in front of the entire school." Frank grumbled. "Jack Anderson. Two days ago, he beat us all up in less than five minutes in front of the entire school. Then yesterday, since the competition was over early, we went to the dance and decided to teach him a lesson. He was about to fight us, but we were too smart for him. Then this girl, out of nowhere came, and started beating the hell out of—"

"Wait," Ty stopped him. So that one kid took down four of his best students in five minutes?

That's got to be a record.

"Who is this _Jack?_ I've heard my girls speak of him a couple of times."

"Well, here's a picture of him…uh, you know…when he beat us up. It's kind of…everywhere." Ty's student, Kevin said, showing him a picture of the kid through his phone. Ty stared at that picture in amazement, seeing the brunet with a fiery look in his eyes, as he saw his four students lying on the ground, weak and motionless.

Yes.

_This _was what he needed.

His gaze returned to the four students, who stared at their sensei in full confusion.

"What is it, Sensei?"

"Listen," Ty said. "I want you to find me that kid. And bring him to me. He looks like he has mad karate skill."

"What?" Frank yelled. "But Sensei Ty—"

"_No_ buts." He stopped them. "Don't you get it? He could be our ticket back to the top! I want you to bring him to me. And be nice to him, will you? We don't want our new student to feel uncomfortable."

"Wait," Kevin said. "So you're saying—"

"Yes." Ty said, with a greedy smile curving on his lips. A feeling of pride rushed through him. Because now he knew with that kid, he could rise back to being the best dojo in town. And knock poor little Rudy Gillespie back to the bottom.

"I want to recruit Jack Anderson to be a Black Dragon."

* * *

_Mondays. _

You'd think that Mondays would be a dreary day for students, as they irritably trudge through the hallways, nearly sleep in their classes, and face their peers with exhausted faces, with bags under their eyes.

But Jerry Martinez was ecstatic.

Not even bothering to finish his chicken salad, Jerry started scanning the entire lunchroom, searching for the brunette that made his Friday night one of the best times of his life. The fact that Grace started warming up to him during the dance made him feel extremely satisfied with himself. For now, they seem to be in the friend zone, but Jerry was determined in getting them out of the friend-zone as fast as possible, before she starts getting too comfortable.

Because once you're in the friend-zone…

You can't get out.

"Hey Jerry!"

_Grace? _

Jerry spun around, but his hopes had nearly fallen to the ground when he saw Jack Anderson standing in front of him with an urgent look. Followed by Jack came a slightly depressed Milton, and a jolly looking Eddie, all sitting down in his table.

_Note to self: Don't tell Grace about this. _

"Sup guys?" Jerry said nonchalantly, and bit half-heartedly. He eyed Jack.

"Oh, Jack did you ask your mom about joining the dojo with us? What did she say?"

The brunet nodded with an excited grin. "I don't know what came over her, but she _agreed!_ I'm officially going to start practicing with you guys on Wednesday!"

A chorus of cheers erupted from their lunch table, as they all high-fived Jack in excitement, thrilled that he was officially going to be a Wasabi Warrior with the rest of them.

"Hey, have you guys seen Julie?" Milton blurted, instantly changing their enthusiastic mood. "I thought she would be in school today, but I didn't see her at all today in Pre-calc."

The group shook their heads, which only made Milton to let out a deep, grieving sigh, entering himself into a train of thought as to where Julie could be.

"She's probably just sick or something," Eddie said. "Let it go, okay?"

"I can't! I've called her, texted her, emailed her, messaged her, but she's been ignoring everything! I'm really worried about her." Milton said uneasily.

"It's okay," Jack said, patting Milton comfortingly. "I'm sure Julie's fine. Just give her some space, and she'll come to you when she's ready."

He gave Jack a slightly relieved smile, but Jerry could tell that he wasn't completely satisfied. Knowing Milton, he was probably going to end up doing something stupid just to find out what's been going on with her.

And by the look on his face, Milton looked more determined than ever to find out what happened to his girlfriend.

"I have a problem of my own," Jack announced. "If you don't mind me sharing."

Jerry took one last look, seeing Grace and Kim walk into the lunchroom. Catching her attention, Jerry gave her a wave, and a smile. As soon as Grace caught sight of him, she flashed a grin, and waved as well, whispering something to Kim as she sat down, which only made Jerry more curious.

He wanted to go over and talk to her…

But his new friend needed him at the moment.

So he gave Jack a nod.

"Well there's this girl—"

"WHO!" Jerry beamed, staring at Jack giddily. "Nice job, bro! It's only your third day here, and you're already making some lady-friends! My man's got game! Who is it—Donna Tobin? No, no—Kelsey White? Or even—"

"I don't even know who it is!" The brunet yelled. "I met her at the dance on Friday, and her face was completely covered, so I couldn't even recognize her. We only talked for five minutes…but she was just so nice, so different from the other girls…and then I got attacked by those Black Dragon boys when I was leaving—."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that!" Eddie said. "Didn't you get a black eye from the fight? I heard you fainted!"

He stared at him with distended eyes. "_You _know about that too?"

"_Everyone_ knows Jack." Milton said. "It spread like wildfire the next day on Facebook and stuff. I was going to call you and ask you how you were doing¸ but it looks like you're doing just fine…I mean your black eye seems a lot less swollen."

He furrowed his brow.

"Yeah…there were pictures of you on Facebook too." Eddie said uncomfortably. "All the girls were like crazy worried about you. Were you even online this weekend?"

"Sorry, but I don't waste my time on social networking," He snapped, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, my mom used to be a nurse, so she kind of took care of me…it saved us a trip from going to the hospital." Jack said. It looked like he wanted to say more about his mom, but he refrained from doing so, his whole body seeming to go a bit restless.

Jerry wanted to say something, maybe ask more about his family since they were now friends, but he as well thought against it.

Not yet.

"I would've been dead if it wasn't for her…" He heard Jack say, instantly changing the subject.

"And you didn't even bother asking her name?" The Latino scolded.

"She left before I could!"

"So, you want to find this mystery girl?" Jerry said¸ putting an arm around Jack. "Not a problem. Let's see if last year's yearbook—"

"Well, there's more, actually." Jack said, pulling something out of his pocket. It didn't take long for the Latino to recognize that it was a necklace.

"I found this after the dance, and you know…after I regained consciousness." He said, shifting uncomfortably. "And I'm pretty sure this belongs to her."

Jerry examined the necklace, his eyes fixing on the pendant that said "Haley". Jerry knew everybody in his sophomore class, and he was positive that there wasn't one girl named 'Haley'…which was odd, since Haley is a pretty common name.

"So what do I do?" He asked. "I really want to find her, but…"

An imaginary light bulb appeared on top of Jerry Martinez's head, as he stared at Jack with a satisfied smirk. He spun the chain around his finger, his brain nearly finishing up a perfectly well-thought out, ingenious plan that would surely help this poor kid find his mystery girl that saved his life. Because let's face it:

Jack Anderson was in love.

"Then find her we will."

* * *

Kimberly Crawford couldn't believe her ears.

So here she was, trudging her way through yet another painful Algebra period, with Grace by her side. It's been three days without her mom's necklace, and ever since then, she was a sheer mess. So far, she hasn't told anyone about the missing necklace—not even Grace. While she did tell her best friend everything, since the brunette was the only girl she could go to, this was one secret she wasn't ready to share yet. She thought that her necklace was gone forever, her last memory of her mother lost in the autumn wind for good…

That was until the afternoon announcements came on.

"_Yo, Yo, Yo, what's up Seaford High!" _An obnoxious voice rang over the speaker, causing all the kids to stop in their tracks, some even bursting into fits of laughter, including Grace. _"This be the swag-master of San Jose, Jerry Martinez, with an important announcement my friend here would like to make. But before we do so, how about a shout out to the awesome Halloween Bash on Friday! Yeah, girls you know what I'm talking about!" _

Kim could hear some of the kids in the hallway cheer Jerry on, with Grace giggling by her side…all Kim did was roll her eyes, her ears managing to listen to the stupid announcement.

"_Jerry, shut up! Mr. Stanek allowed me to talk, not you! Give me the mic!" _Kim heard another strangely familiar voice faintly coming through the speakers.

"_Well, folks that's all from Jerry! I'll be handing it over to my friend so stay tuned! I'll be here for the rest of the year if you want my autograph!" _She heard Jerry scream hurriedly. The kids laughed, rolling their eyes at Jerry's obnoxiousness. And as his voice disappeared from the intercom, in came another.

"_Uh, hi there Seaford. You may not know who I am because I'm new…my name's Jack Anderson." _

Her heart nearly stopped beating.

Kim saw the girls listen to the announcements with more interests…which was a first.

"_So, going back to the dance, yeah it was true…I did get into a bit of a bloody situation, but I'm fine now, so it's all good. Thanks everyone for asking, and being concerned. But in the dance, I found out a lot of things. Not only did I discover that revenge can be painful—" _

The girls giggled.

"—_But I also discovered someone. A girl, actually. I don't know her name, and we barely conversed…but in that brief conversation, this may sound weird, but she gave me advice that changed my life. And without her taking down the boys who'd beaten me up…I don't think I'd be talking with you all right now." _

Some of the girls scoffed in jealousy. Others sighed dreamily.

Kim, for one, had her jaw dropped wide open.

_Me. Me. Holy crap, he's talking about me. _She thought repeatedly in her mind.

"_Um, anyway, I have something that belongs to her. It's a necklace, with someone's name written on the pendant. Thing is, that name isn't anyone that goes to our school, at least, not that I know of. But if you're a girl that recently lost a necklace with a name engraved on the pendant, you can see me tomorrow or any time during lunch to retrieve it. If you can tell me the name that's written, then I'll know that you're the one. To the girl that made that night one of the best nights ever, even though I nearly died—" _He laughed. "_—I just want to say thank you. Even though you talked to me for, like, two minutes, you helped me a lot. And you really know how to kick butt, so thanks for saving me from possible death. I know you're out there somewhere, so…hopefully we'll meet again. Because I can't stop thinking about you." _

Now, Kim Crawford was ready to explode.

"_Well, uh…have a great day everyone." _He said a bit awkwardly, turning off the microphone. She saw a bunch of girls rushing into one another, already brainstorming a bunch of names it could be. Sweat beaded down the blonde's forehead, as she panted heavily, her arms and legs feeling like jelly, preventing her from even taking one step further.

Jack Anderson had her necklace.

"So, who do you think Jack's mystery girl is?" Grace asked her. Without answering, the blonde raced into the nearest bathroom, ignoring the calls from her friend. Thanking the gods that there was no one in the bathroom, she rushed into one of the stalls, locking the door behind her, ready to throw up her lunch. His words had sunk into Kim's head, and wouldn't come out, making her go absolutely insane.

She gave him some advice that helped him.

She saved his life.

And he had something that belonged to _her_.

But the worst part:

Jack Anderson was in love.

With _her. _

"Kim!" She heard Grace scream with concern, as she slammed her fist onto the bathroom stall door. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Her last words nearly came out as a whisper, before she threw up her chicken salad.

"…_I'm_ Jack's mystery girl."

* * *

**A/N- And the plot THICKENS. Haha, anyway I thought it was best to stop here, since it was getting WAY too long. Not my best work, but hope you enjoyed this chapter! So here's our questions yet-to-be answered for this chapter: What happened to Julie? Will Milton and Julie reunite? Will Ty recruit Jack to be a Black Dragon? Will Jack find his mystery girl? Will Kim reveal her identity? Or will Donna have to step in the picture?**

**FEAR NOT MY KICK-LOVERS. MAJOR KICK TO ARRIVE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, I PROMISE YOU. **

**I'm thinking of picking up right where I left off in the next chapter since I hated this ending, and in the next chapter, I promise for more Jack/Kim since they haven't really conversed directly with eachother much. But I hope you enjoyed this update! Please review! Since there are over 30 people who subscribed to this story already, I'm assuming that you all take the time to read it. So, since I put a lot of effort into these, I hope to hear at least a few words from all of you. They seriously make my day, and since this is my last story, reviews would be appreciated! **

**But thank you guys for over 50 reviews! Love you all!**

**Peace and love,**

**~Taylor :) **


	5. Drops of Irony

**A/N-Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter of Once Upon a Dream! AND I'M FINALLY BACK IN THE US SO I HAVE INTERNET CONNECTION. HELL TO THE YEAH. **

**And thank you all for over seventy reviews already! That is amazing, and I'm so glad you all love the story! Hope you enjoy this chapter! **

**SPOILER ALERT: LOTS OF KICK AND JACE! ;) **

**Oh, and WARNING: this is the longest chapter I have ever written. So, read this only if you have time. And since I put a lot of effort, please drop in a review even if you don't have much to say? They really mean a lot to me! There are over 40 of you subscribed, so I'd appreciate if all of you reviewed! **

**Hope you guys like it!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Disney XD's Kickin' It, Cinderella, or Another Cinderella Story.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Drops of Irony**

* * *

Jack Anderson did not expect this.

What he did expect was possibly a few girls coming up to him during lunch, and guessing some names, even though the necklace didn't rightfully belong to them; It seemed predictable, since girls started crowding around him the second he came out of the office from announcements the previous day. What he did expect was that hopefully by the end of the day, he would find his mystery girl, return the necklace, and everyone would live happily ever after.

By the end of the day, none of his expectations came true.

Instead, he saw probably the entire group of sophomore girls lined up at his lunch table, with excited, flirtatious grins. Jack's jaw dropped, as he exchanged shocked looks with Jerry, who on the other hand, seemed pretty excited about this, while he was ready to explode.

"Wow…" Eddie breathed. "I've never had girls line up at my table before! This is so cool!"

"JULIE!" Milton sobbed into Eddie's shirt. "She wasn't in school today either! If she doesn't come tomorrow, I'm going to her house!"

"What did I get myself into?" Jack whispered to Jerry, who was standing by his side, his jaw dropped as well.

"Chill bro," Jerry hissed. "We can get through these girls. I mean come on, there has to be at least one girl in this line who's the rightful owner of that necklace. And you heart." He giggled.

The brunet rolled his eyes. "But how are we going to get through everyone?" He asked, trying to smile politely at the first girl in line, who he remembered was Julia Hirsh, with her long, sandy brown hair that fell all the way to her waist, and a grin filled with braces.

"Well, we better start now. We only have 25 minutes of lunch left."

Clenching his fists, Jack flashed a polite grin at Julia, who seemed like she was ready to burst with excitement.

"Okay. So, you're the owner of the necklace?"

She nodded her head vigorously.

"Can I have it? Or, you know what, you don't have to give it to me; we can just make out!" She said, rushing in closer towards Jack, pursing her lips. Before she could make any movement on his lips, Jerry stood, and shoved her away from Jack¸ the brunet's mouth forming a perfectly large "O".

Why were all these girls so desperate in going with him? Was he some sort of celebrity here?

Talk about desperate.

"Whoa, whoa there, back off you crazy chick!" He screamed. "You got to tell us the name first!"

"Uh…" She breathed, shifting her glasses uncomfortably. "Julia?"

_This was going to be a long lunch period. _

"NEXT!"

**::**

"Trixie?"

"No."

"Arianna?"

"No."

"Charlie?"

"NO!"

Jack had the tips of his fingers pressed on his forehead in frustration, as he stared at the girl (he didn't even know her name) helplessly. They had probably gone through more than twenty girls, yet none of them were the rightful owner of the necklace. More than disappointment, Jack was ready to scream at one of these girls in irritation, but instead all he did was flash yet another one of his civil smirks.

"Sorry, but none of those are right." He said, enfolding his hands and placing them on the table, in a sophisticated manner. "If you would just step out of line, so that—"

"No! I am the right one for you, trust me! We're so good for eachother! Come on—I NEED A BOYFRIEND!" She screamed. Milton rushed up to her, and tried putting his hands comfortingly on her shoulders.

"I know, sweetie, I know…it hurts. Now leave." Milton snapped. With a growl, the girl marched off, leaving the four boys staring at eachother with distended eyes. Jack reluctantly gave Jerry a nod, so the Latino spun his heads, coming face-to-face with the long line of girls.

"I'm sorry girls, but that's it for today. Just come back tomorrow if you're the _real _owner." Jerry said. There was chorused "aw!" coming from the group of girls, as they all slowly separated from the line in disappointment. The brunet stared at all of them go, sighing in relief, as well as disappointment that he hasn't found the girl yet.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…

"Sorry, man." Jerry patted his back. "Come on, it was just one day. Maybe your girl will show up tomorrow."

"Who knows?" Eddie asked. "She could be right under your nose the entire time."

Yeah, right.

Suddenly, Jack's eyes caught his attention to one girl that was staring right back at him from afar. Her honey blonde hair flew over her shoulders, and her doe-like brown eyes were staring right into his nervously. For a second, Jack didn't recognize who it was from the crowd of girls still making their way back to their seats, but after one more look, he realized who it was…

It was _Kim_.

The fact that he couldn't recognize her was a bit surprising. Maybe it was the eyes? Those chocolate brown eyes that he never remembered seeing before...then again, the first two times he'd bumped into her, her bangs messily blocked her eyes. Then, the other day when they were doing the frog dissection, her eyes were covered in those foggy goggles. For some reason, she seemed disturbed about something, taking a long, anxious look at him, as if she wanted to say something, but didn't.

The ways that her eyes bored right into his…

Why were Kim's eyes bothering him?

What made them so special?

Jack decided to give a small wave and smile at Kim, but she responded back with nothing. Instead, she opened her mouth, like she was about to say something, something important, even though they were across the cafeteria…

When the bell rang.

"Come on, man, lunch is over." Jerry said. "It's okay, we'll find her tomorrow, I promise."

He took another look at the spot where Kim was.

And she was gone.

With utter disappointment, he stood up from the table, taking one last look at where she was standing. Was she even in line? What did she want to tell him? Was she angry with him?

Nonetheless, that was the first time Jack Anderson had seen her beautiful eyes.

And he hoped it wouldn't be the last.

"Alright. Let's get to class."

* * *

"You _didn't _tell him?!"

Kim stopped in her tracks, and faced Grace who was staring at her like she was an idiot. So yes, after her little incident in the bathroom yesterday, she had no choice but to explain to Grace everything that had happened, how she talked with Jack at the dance on Friday, how she attacked the Black Dragon boys and saved him, how she actually enjoyed it, and how she lost the necklace.

The part revealing that she's Jack's mystery girl didn't need any explaining.

Being the over-obsessive freak Grace was, she started jumping up and down at the idea of the two of them being together. The part that he's _crazy _about _her _still makes Kim want to vomit again. Who would want to be in love with a girl like her? To Kim, she was nothing but a helpless, disappointing, poor little maid.

This is why when Grace forced her to go tell him, she refrained from doing so and instead, stared at him from a distance like a freak.

"I'm sorry, okay?" She said irritably. "I was going to, but then the bell rang, so I ran off because I didn't want to be late for Biology!"

"Right, so you didn't want to miss frog dissections, and the smell of demorphin?" She snapped, as they walked into the biology classroom. Kim rolled her eyes playfully, slightly smiling at Grace. She found it funny how the girl could instantly detect her lies. Then again…she wasn't a very good liar.

"Look, I'll tell him when I'm…" Her voice trailed off, as she entered the classroom. The blonde distended her eyes in shock, and exchanged surprised looks with Grace. Kim saw a bunch of girls crowding around her table, with loud chatter echoing throughout the room. She instantly assumed that Jack was in there, which was scary since there was barely any personal space for him…or breathing space.

She stormed into the scene, staring at the girls who didn't even see that she was standing right next to them. She tried patting a few girls and asking them to leave, but they ignored her. She tried even shoving some girls out of the way, but that didn't work either.

_That's it. _

"HEY!" The blonde screamed. Finally the girls chatter faltered, as they stared at Kim in bewilderment.

"Back away from the table," She ordered. "I saw Mr. Daniels walk in, so unless you want to get detention, I suggest you beat it."

With frantic eyes, the girls rushed back to their seats, letting out a few last flirty waves at Jack, some even sending him flying kisses. Rolling her eyes, she took a seat next to Jack, who seemed to finally be catching his breath, and sighing in relief.

"Thanks," He panted. "I could've sworn I saw a bright light."

"Speaking of which…I, uh, heard what happened on Friday night."

_Oh yeah. She heard it real good. _

"Are you okay now?"

"Yeah, I guess," Jack shrugged. "It's scary how _everyone_ knows about it, though."

"Yeah, well…you seem to be quite the celebrity now. You probably love all the attention from all those desperate girls who want to go out with you so badly."

While it may be paradise for him, it was irritating and revolting for her.

"Are you kidding? I'd rather just be a fly on the wall," He grunted, which surprised Kim. "I guess I shouldn't have put it on the announcements. But I didn't want to get all those girls…just one. Why won't she show up?"

Kim bit her lip, staring at Jack with worried eyes. She wanted to hold her mom's necklace again, and get that warm feeling when she rubs the cold silver metal against her fingers. She wanted to reach for it right now, asking her mom on what she should do…

If only she had the courage to tell him the truth.

"Good afternoon class!" Mr. Daniels bellowed, waltzing into the room with tensed eyes. "Sorry I'm late! Our staff meeting took longer than expected. Now, let's get right into business, as we only have thirty minutes left of class. Since we finished dissecting, you will now be asked to write a lab report with your partner on the experiment. The packet will be worth forty-five percent of your grade. I was hoping for you to finish this by the end of class, but since I was so late, I'm allowing you to take it home to finish, if necessary. But remember—that does _not _mean this class is free period! The more work you get done, the less homework you'll have."

He eyed Milton, who was sitting by himself in the lab table with depressed eyes.

"Milton, is Julie absent today?"

He stared longingly at the chair next to him and nodded glumly.

"Well, then you'll finish it by yourself then. We'll ask Julie to make it up somehow when she gets back. Now everyone—I'll be passing the papers! Get to work!"

Mr. Daniels handed two thick packets to our table, the chatter instantly rising in the classroom. Jack and I stared at the packet with distended eyes.

"Is this a packet or a novel?" Jack asked, flipping through the papers that never seemed to end.

"Let's just get to work." Kim said, picking up her pencil, and starting to furiously write on the paper.

For almost the rest of the class, the two of them were silent, trying to get through as much of the packet as they can. For some reason, Kim had the urge to talk to Jack about something, anything, but she couldn't find the right words to say.

"So, how's your karate going?"

She bit her lip once more, wanting to curse at herself for bringing the topic up.

He looked up from his paper, his eyes flickering in interest. "Well, I start practicing tomorrow actually. Since my mom finally agreed, I signed up to the Bobby Wasabi dojo at the strip mall. I'm pretty excited to start after a long while. What about you? Where do you go?"

Kim gripped her pencil so tight she thought it was going to snap into two pieces.

"I don't go anywhere," Kim said in depression. "Well, when I was little, I used to…but some_ things_ came up, so I had to quit. I haven't gone back since."

"Oh, well I'm sorry to hear that," Jack said, with sympathy. With stiff hands, she continued scribbling something onto the paper. Like Jack, she also had a passion for it. Her mother enrolled her when she was just at the tender age of four. The memories were still stuck with her, how she was so nervous to go at first, how she was about to cry out of shyness when she met Ty for the first time. But overtime, she grew a serious passion for it, and martial arts changed her physically and mentally…she learned to stand up for what you believe in, to never give up, and be confident with yourself.

But after that terrible night, not only did her mother die, but so did her chance at going back into martial arts, and all the lessons that one sport taught her. Her passion stayed within her all these years, secretly practicing the routines from several years back in her bedroom, in Ty's dojo…

But she can't even do that anymore.

"You know," Jack said, clearing his throat. "If you want, you can come with me tomorrow, and maybe sign up over there. Rudy's a really nice person, and I'm sure I can help you work something out with him."

She finally chose to look up at him, her eyes wide with interest, and surprise. "Really? You'd do that?"

"Sure," He smiled. "I mean, you seem like a nice person…and really passionate about martial arts, so why not?"

"Well, thanks," She said, slightly smiling. Just pondering the thought of going back into a dojo sounds exciting to her. "So I just show up there, and I'm signed up?"

"Actually, you need your mom or dad to do some paperwork," Jack shrugged like it was no big deal. "But, I was thinking you could come with me tomorrow just to check out the place. Then, if you like it, you can bring your parents to sign up. Shouldn't be a problem, right?"

And that's when all of Kim's hopes, once again, came crashing to the ground.

"Oh," Kim said, her face falling. "Then, it's really no point…but thanks for the offer."

"Wait, why not?"

Kim refrained from telling Jack her whole back story, how her mom died when she was little, and how she's living with an abusive stepfather, and two girls she's forced to call her sisters. While Jack seemed like the kind of person she could trust, she wasn't going to make the mistake of trusting someone.

Not again.

"My parents are uh…on a business trip." Kim lied. "Yeah, they won't be back for a while. I don't think they'll say yes, so you just go without me."

"Oh," Jack's face fell. "You know what…I'm still taking that as a maybe."

The blonde raised her eyebrows at him. "Oh, so you _want _me to come with you?"

Jack's cheeks colored. "At least call them and ask. I'm telling you, the dojo is really good."

She sighed and stared at him, about to tell him more lies on why she can't go with him, until Mr. Daniels came in, clapping his hands for the student's attention.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen! Class is over so start gathering your things! If you haven't completed your lab report yet—and by the looks of it, it seems like it's most of you—you must complete it for homework. Have a good day everyone!"

Jack and Kim stared at their packets, realizing they still had half of the packet to finish, since they were so busy talking. The two exchanged shy looks, and started gathering their things. For some reason, she was almost disappointed that class was over. She wanted to converse with him more about martial arts, about just anything, yet she hated herself for it. Was she actually beginning to warm up to Jack? This is from the girl who never talked with anyone but Grace. The girl who could barely spoke to anyone, always keeping secrets. Why couldn't she be more like the girl under the veil on Friday night? The girl who gave good advice, the girl who was so confident with herself, and wasn't afraid to stick up for people?

The girl with the martial arts skills?

"So, when do you want to meet up?" Jack asked.

"Huh?"

"You know, to finish the lab report," He said, slightly smiling.

"Oh, that." She sighed in frustration, staring at the thick lab report. "How about we meet at the library? Right after school?"

"Sounds good." The brunet smiled. "See you then."

The blonde quickly swept her books in her hand, and rushed out of the room, running towards her locker, and packing up her backpack as quick as she could.

And she couldn't help but let a smile curve on her lips.

* * *

"I'm so excited! Aren't you?"

Smirking at Jerry's excitement, the brunet was packing up his backpack hastily as he was already late for his study…_rendezvous_ with Kim. He refused to call it a _date _since they were assigned partners and they were forced to work on it together. Yet, while it was surprising for him to admit, Jack actually enjoyed working with Kim, and conversing with her. She seemed so different from any girl he's ever met, so…secretive.

He was hoping to get to know her better today.

The hallways were empty, since school was over ten minutes ago. He would've gotten to library by now, if it weren't for his principal who had called him over to the office, discussing about the "accident" that had took place on Friday night. Thankfully, he was released from the detention he'd forgotten about, and the Black Dragon boys were punished for a week of suspension.

So Jack's excuse is reasonable.

"Remind me why you want to come with me again?" Jack asked, as he hurried to stuff his textbooks into his bag.

"Hello? I heard Kim talking with Grace, and she said she was going to with her! I haven't had a chance to talk to her after the dance, so now's my chance!" Jerry said, literally jumping up and down in enthusiasm. Rolling his eyes, he stuffed the last of his books into his bag, and slammed his locker shut.

And surprisingly, he came face-to-face with two girls he wasn't too auspicious in seeing.

It was nobody but Kelsey and Claire White, with their mini-skirts and blouses, staring at Jack like he was some sort of god.

"Hey Jack!" Claire and Kelsey exclaimed simultaneously.

"Hi," He said plainly, throwing the strap of his book bag over his shoulder. "Listen girls, as much as I love talking to you two, I need to head over the library so—"

"Why?" Kelsey asked. "You like to read?"

"I'm working on that lab report for Biology with Kim," He said. The girls seemed indignant when hearing the sound of Kim's name, rolling their eyes in disgust and gritting their teeth, which made Jack to narrow his eyes in confusion.

"And I'll be seeing _my lady!" _Jerry squealed doing a little dance. The two girls rolled their eyes at the Latino boy in confusion.

"Wait!" Claire said, gripping his shoulder to stop him. "We actually needed to talk to you about something really quick…please?"

He stared at his watch for a second, noticing that he was already fifteen minutes late. He casted a look towards the two girls, who were staring at him willingly with pleading eyes.

Curse his niceness.

"Okay," He said. "I'm listening."

"Well, our dad, Ty, is the sensei of the Black Dragon Martial Arts Academy…I'm assuming you know about the place, considering you took down four of my dad's best students on the first day of school," Claire smiled.

"You were awesome, by the way!" Kelsey giggled.

He gave Kelsey a dry, uneasy smile. Other than the boys beating him up, he has heard about the Black Dragon Martial Arts Academy…it's supposed to be the best dojo in town, with high-quality training equipment, constant tournaments, and everything being as immaculate as it can be.

So Jack's eyes suddenly flickered in interest.

"What about your dad?"

"Well, he's heard so much about you, and he's impressed that you took them down so quickly. So, he wants to meet you tonight, when he'll finally be back from his martial arts convention. So he asked if you'd like to meet at our place for dinner." Claire said.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble or anything," Kelsey added. "He just wants to meet you."

Jack eyed the two girls skeptically, still staring at him with those imploring eyes. What if these girls were just tricking him so he can select them to be _the one? _

These girls didn't seem very trustworthy.

"And you're completely sure _he_ wants to have me over at your place for dinner?"

"Here," Claire said, handing him a slip of paper with a phone number on it. "Call him if you don't believe us."

"But we hope you can come!" Kelsey beamed. "Call us!"

"See you tonight at seven!" Claire said. "Bye Jack!"

And with a flirtatious wave and smile, they dashed off, seeming like they needed to be somewhere. Jerry eyed Jack frantically, as he saw the boy in a daze.

"Dude!" Jerry screamed. "You're not actually thinking about going to Ty's house are you? He's the enemy!"

Laughing, Jack patted Jerry on the back. "Relax, Jerry. It's obviously just some trick by those girls. Trust me; I don't think I want to go."

"Good." Jerry sighed in relief. "Because if you did, Rudy would kill you."

"Why does he care?"

"Uh, hello—he's been enemies with Ty ever since they were both in high school! And that's a _really long _time ago!" He exclaimed. "If he found out you were dining on Pastrami at his million-dollar villa, he'd kill you!"

Jack was almost taken aback at this. Since when did Rudy control him?

"Anyway, come on man…let's move it! Grace is waiting!" And with that, Jerry rushed off, not even bothering to wait for Jack. The brunet slipped the phone number into his backpack, and started running off towards the library, since now he was more than twenty minutes late.

Yet, Jack couldn't help but think of ensembles to wear tonight at Sensei Ty's house for dinner.

* * *

"Where is he?"

Here they were, Kim and Grace, frustrated out of their minds as they sat at one of the desks in the Seaford Public Library, waiting for Jack's arrival. The blonde's eyes constantly darted from her watch to the door, yet the only thing that seemed to be moving was the watch. Thirty minutes to be exact.

And now she was fuming.

"Of course," Kim said, tapping on her pencil in anger. "I finally meet a guy who's actually nice, a person you can trust, and he stood me up. I can't believe I was actually beginning to warm up to Jack! And now, I'm going to have to sit here and work on this stupid project—"

"Who cares about Jack?" Grace snapped. "I was talking about Jerry! I saw him waiting for Jack by his locker, so I assumed he was going to come! But I guess not…"

Kim rolled her eyes, throwing her pencil on the table in frustration, and started gathering her things. "Forget it, I'm leaving. I knew this was a bad idea."

"No, no, no!" Grace said, stopping her from going. "Don't leave yet! Something might have come up, that's all. Just be patient, he'll be here. And then once he comes, you're going to tell him that _you_ were the one that saved his life, and that you're the owner of that necklace."

"Shh!" Kim hissed. "Judging by the fact that he's a half-hour late when we agreed to meet directly after school, I don't think he's coming because he obviously doesn't care. So why should I tell him?"

"Kim, come on. Maybe you don't particularly like him, but what about the necklace? If that girl doesn't show up soon, he's eventually going to give up. And after that, you're never going to get it back."

"He doesn't seem like he's going to give up." Kim defended. "It's all he talks about."

"Which is why you need to put him out of his misery," She countered. "You gave him your words of wisdom, saved him from the Black Dragons, and now you're all he thinks about. You'll finally get a guy, you'll get your mom's necklace back, and you'll be training partners at the Bobby Wasabi dojo. So you should tell him, and I'm telling you, he's going to be overjoyed that it's someone as beautiful, smart, and talented as you. Kim…I just want you to be happy."

She smiled at Grace, wrapping her arms around her neck for a quick hug, laughing. "And that's why I love you."

"So you'll do it?"

She pulled away, and rolled her eyes playfully at Grace, who stared at her willingly.

"I—"

"Sorry, I'm late!"

The doors of the library bursted open, revealing a panting Jack and Jerry who stared at Kim and Grace with amplified eyes as they rushed over to their table, while the librarians were scolding at them to be quiet. The two stood up, and while Jerry and Grace were giving eachother flirtatious grins and waves, Kim did nothing but scowl at Jack.

"What happened? Got caught up in all the girls' attention?" Kim retorted sarcastically. Jack stared at her apologetically, setting his backpack on the seat next to her.

"I know you're mad, and I'm really sorry I'm so late. Principal Squires was talking with me about what happened on Friday night, and he said he'd release me from detention so I could get some rest and things like that."

"For a half-hour?" Kim asked, folding her arms across her chest. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"No Kim, it's seriously true," Jerry said, backing him up. "And he would've been here earlier, but Kelsey and Claire wouldn't stop flirting with him…but trust me, he's really sorry."

"So now you need people to speak for you?" She snapped, trailing her eyes back on the brunet.

"Kim, I'm telling you the truth." He countered. "I'm sorry, okay?"

She rolled her eyes, and stared at Jack who looked like he was ready to beg on his knees for an apology. It seemed like he didn't want them to absolutely despise eachother again, after what happened in their previous misunderstanding. What angered her more was that she was feeling the same way, especially since they just started getting along. She sighed, and sat down on her chair, keeping her mouth shut from making any more arguments.

"Okay, whatever…just forget it. Let's just finish this lab report and get it over with," She mumbled. Uneasily, he took a seat next to her, pulling his books out of his bag, and sitting there in silence.

"Well, uh…" Jerry said, standing right next to Grace, slowly backing away from the two. "We're just going to…"

"…Leave you two…to it." Grace finished, winking at Kim. Her eyes distended in panic, as she pulled Grace closer to her, before she could escape.

"Don't leave me here alone!" She hissed at her.

"You two need to talk things out," She whispered back. "If you need me, I'll be with Jerry, okay?" And with a last wave, mouthing the words "sorry", she ran off with Jerry hand in hand.

And to her dismay, Kimberly Crawford and Jack Anderson were alone.

All alone.

* * *

"What about that one?"

"Easy! It looks like a… mix between a dog and a fire-breathing dragon."

Grace West couldn't help but laugh, as she lied on the green, thorny grass of Bayview Park, staring at the clouds that were slowly turning grey. With Jerry Martinez lying right by her side, she couldn't help but have a wide grin glued to her face. The fact that she's actually beginning to enjoy his presence almost scares her. If someone would've have asked her how she felt about Jerry, she would've said he was nothing but an obnoxious, self-centered troublemaker that doesn't care about anything.

But after just one night with him, she saw Jerry Martinez in a completely different perspective.

She started to contemplate how just one night could change everything. Was it possible to fall for someone you've spent time with for only a couple of hours? How can you go from hating somebody to blushing every time they walk by you in the hallway?

Maybe it's just the crazy thing about love.

She shook the thought out of her head, resuming her attention to the clouds, the specific one where Jerry pictured being a mix between a dog and a fire-breathing dragon. To her, clouds was just…clouds. They were always clouds, always just big puffs of gas and water in the sky. But with Jerry picturing these clouds as figures, as actual objects, the thought of that made her go wonderstruck.

And Grace realized how much of her childhood she had unfortunately missed.

Seeing the clouds were losing its shape from the gloominess of the sky, the two finally chose to sit up, enjoying the fresh, chill autumn breeze.

"That was fun," Grace smiled. "I've never just lied down and stared at clouds before."

"It's called relaxing," Jerry said. "Something you should do more often…"

"I wish." Grace sighed. "But for some reason, with what's going on at my house¸ I don't even have time to just relax."

"Why? What's wrong?" Jerry asked in concern, scooting closer towards her.

"Well, I have a little sister, and parents who are on the verge of a divorce. I try and make sure my little sister is always happy…I mean, having your parents fighting all the time at the age of five is pretty hard, so I'm always taking of her, while my parents continue to argue at the top of their lungs. I never get a chance to relax and stare at clouds like you can."

"That must suck," Jerry said. "Well if it makes you feel any better, my life's no breeze either. I try and stay out of the house as much as I can, because I hate facing my parents with my bad grades and tarnished record. My parents are doctors, my older brothers and sisters are all smart, going off to Yale and things like that. I'm the only stupid kid in my family…and sometimes I just think I don't even belong with them."

Grace stared at him in concern, as his face had suddenly gone into depression, yanking out the grass in frustration.

"Jerry, you're not dumb. You're probably one of the smartest kids I know…I mean; I would've never guessed that a cloud could look like a mix between two animals," She smiled. He laughed, not taking his eyes off of her. "Don't feel inferior. It's just going to make you feel worse and worse, and soon, you'll start doing things that you'll regret."

She would know. She's dealt with Kim and her insecurities.

"Whatever," Jerry shrugged. Before he could say anything else, they heard thunder rumbling in the sky. Before they knew it, rain started to pour endlessly, which caused the two to get drenched in a matter of seconds. They both stood up, and rather than squealing and complaining, they just laughed and stared at eachother.

"We should probably get inside." Grace said, grabbing Jerry's hand.

"Why?" He asked. "It's just rain! It won't hurt you…unless you're scared of the rain hurting your hair."

She rolled her eyes, staring at Jerry's challenged smirk, as they stood in the rain. With a playful grin, she shoved Jerry to the ground.

"Who's hurt now?" She laughed.

"Oh, you are_ so_ dead!"

And with that, he stood up, chasing her around the park, as she tried running away from him, laughing like there was no tomorrow. The brunette could hear Jerry's laughter harmonizing with hers, as she danced in the rain, feeling like she was a little girl all over again. Before she knew it, Jerry seized her by the arms, and picked her up, swinging her around which just made her laugh with joy even more. She suddenly forgot about everything, her parents fighting, the pressure seized within her as she tried keeping her little sister away from getting hurt…

Jerry lifted everything off her shoulders.

And for the first time, Grace West felt like a child all over again.

* * *

"And _that's _how you make an origami bird."

Finally finishing her little paper-folding project, Kim smiled as she showed it to Jack, flapping the paper bird's wings, letting a laugh to choke out. Luckily, they had finally managed to finish their lab report together in an hour, answering all the complicated questions. At first, while Kim was still angry at Jack, she eventually let it go, and chose to finish her work with a calm mind, discussing things with Jack like it had never happened. The thick lab report was stuffed in their bags with the rest of their books, the clouds turning grey, and the skies turning a bit darker.

Yet, here they were in the library, laughing and conversing with eachother, not wanting to leave.

She didn't even remember how they got into the topic of _origami_, but next thing she knew, Kim was teaching Jack how to fold the paper to create the bird. She didn't even keep track of time, of where Grace was, or why Kelsey and Claire hadn't called her home yet to do more work.

For the first time, Kim was enjoying herself.

"Come on, show me yours." She said a bit impatiently.

"Okay, but prepare to amazed." Jack said. And with a dramatic effect, he revealed it to Kim, and she came face-to-face with a crumbled piece of paper. The blonde smacked him on the arm, laughing uncontrollably.

"I asked you to make a paper bird, not a snowball!" She laughed. He took the bird form her hands, flapping the wings.

"Hey, be happy I made an effort to try." He laughed. "When did you learn how to do origami?"

"When I was little. My mom taught me." She said. "She's an artist, and I guess I sort of got my love for art from her. If you look in my bedroom there are a bunch of paintings I did that are hung up on the wall. Like martial arts, painting just allows me to disconnect from everything, and express myself, with no judgment."

She was careful not to say _was _an artist, and tried to manage a smile as she was talking about her mother.

"That's good that you love art. If you put me near a canvas and a box of paints, it wouldn't be pretty," He teased. "I'm keeping this, by the way."

"Fine…I have plenty more at home." She waved it off, smiling.

"So, besides art, what else do you like to do?" He asked, inching a bit closer to her.

"Well, obviously martial arts." She said. "But as of right now, it's just art."

"Speaking of martial arts…have you asked your parents yet?"

Her amused smile disappeared, and she faced him with sad eyes, already knowing the answer to that question. "Um…yeah, I did…and sadly they said no."

She slightly winced, turning away from him. She felt extremely guilty for lying to him…but at the same time, she didn't want to tell him the truth about her wretched family either.

Not yet, anyway.

"They did?" Jack said, his face falling. "Why?"

"They just didn't like the idea." She lied again.

"You should talk to them and tell them how you really feel," Jack said. "If you want, maybe I could convince them."

She stared at him, getting caught into his gaze, as Jack stared at her with concerned eyes. The fact that he was willing to speak to her parents just to get Kim to join the dojo made her stomach to churn. "Why do you want me to join the dojo so badly?"

"Well, I don't want you to just stay in your room, and never get the chance to do something you love," He said. "That happened to me, and then I decided I wasn't going to let my mom or anything stop me from doing what I want to do. And I'm not going to let that stop you."

She slightly smiled at how nice he was to her, but refused to stare into those deep, chocolate brown pools. "I appreciate what you're trying to do Jack, but I don't think they'll be saying yes anytime soon."

Unfortunately, they won't be saying anything anytime soon.

The thought of that made her want to cry helplessly. For Jack, if he wanted something, he could just run up to his mother and ask her. He had the opportunity to get what he desired. But for Kim, she had nobody to go to if she wanted something. If she dared to ask Ty for something, he'd probably slap her across the face, and scold her for being "ungrateful". If he wouldn't even let her join his own dojo, how will he allow her to join another dojo?

She wanted to join the Bobby Wasabi Martial Arts Academy. She wanted to spar with actual people, and train with actual equipment without worrying about Ty catching her. She wanted people to criticize her routines, and help her to make it better. She wanted to gain that joyous feeling of having a black belt wrapped around her waist.

But it was all nothing but a dream.

Before Jack could argue any further, they both heard thunder rumbling from outside, seeing that it was pouring heavily, the endless drops of rain slapping the windows harshly. They both exchanged glances, and Kim immediately stood up.

"I should probably get going before the rain gets worse." Kim muttered, picking up her bag, and starting to leave without even goodbye.

"Wait!" She felt a hand collapse on her wrist, and turned around, facing Jack, who was almost disappointed to see her leave.

"At least let me walk you home," He said. "It's pouring outside, and you don't even have a jacket or an umbrella."

Considering he didn't want him to see that she lived in Kelsey and Claire's house, she shook her head vigorously. "You don't have to, it's okay. I like the rain, really."

"I know…but I want to."

Her eyes trailed from the thunder rumbling outside, and to Jack's pleading eyes. She let out a deep sigh, and stared at him…

And for some reason, she actually _wanted _him to walk with her too.

So with a playful roll of her eyes, and a slight smile, she nodded.

"Okay. But don't forget my origami bird."

* * *

"Are you _sure _you don't want my hoodie?"

The rain seemed to pour endlessly, soaking her honey-blonde hair and clothes. This probably being the hundredth time he'd asked if she wanted to borrow his hoodie, she stopped in her tracks, and faced Jack with a glare.

"Jack, I'm seriously fine," She said, rolling her eyes. "Come on…it's not every day when it rains in San Jose!"

She felt like dancing in the rain…that peaceful, effervescent feeling of the water pelting down her hair, the sound her shoes along the pavement as it's being showered with nature's water. Being in the rain just made her feel free, as if the rain just washed away all her burdens.

It made Kim feel like there was nothing stopping her.

"You know, most girls are afraid if the rain will ruin their salon-styled hair," He teased.

"Well, I guess I'm not most girls then, considering I never really style my hair," The blonde laughed. She stared at Jack's hoodie, how he was concealing his chocolate brown hair from it getting soaking wet.

"This is why I always bring a sweater with me," Jack said. "So I'm safe and away from the water."

"Dude, you seriously need to stop living inside a shell." She said. "Start living life. Take off the damn hoodie, and enjoy what nature has to offer!"

"But…my hair." He whined. She rolled her eyes.

"You've obviously been spending way too much time with girls." She joked. "Seriously you need to enjoy things while you have it…because before you know it, they'll be gone." As soon as Kim said it, her mother instantly came into mind.

"Relax Helen, it'll rain again," He teased. With a huff, she reached for his hoodie, and lifted it off of his head. At first, he seemed a bit angry as his hair was drenched in a matter of seconds, but after a few minutes, the rain itself just cooled him down, and he ended up letting a grin to release on his face.

"It's actually nice," Jack said, flipping his wet, brunet hair. "I just feel so…"

"Free?" She finished. "Exactly. It's like the rain can wash away all your problems, no matter how bad the situation is…or it's sometimes just fun to dance in."

"You're a really odd girl, you know that?" Jack teased, conveying a smile. She smiled, shoving him playfully.

"Well thank you," She laughed. "Speaking of odd…what's the deal with your mystery girl?"

Jack stared at Kim and he chuckled a bit. "Aw, are you jealous?"

"Jerk," She snapped, shoving him playfully.

"I mean, I don't know…she's just so different." He began. "I only talked with her for five minutes, and because of her, I got the confidence to ask my mom to sign up in the Bobby Wasabi Dojo. She told me not to let any complications stop me from what I want to do…and she was right. She was just so confident with herself, and she didn't seem afraid of anything. And then, she saved me from choking to death…her martial arts moves were amazing. It was like she was a natural professional, you know?"

Impulsively, Kim started to blush.

"I was wondering where you got your words of wisdom from," She smiled, trying to make a joke.

"Yeah well…what she said was true. I just…need to find her. I just want to see her one last time…and I know this sounds pretty stupid and crazy, but I just can't stop thinking about her. I don't know why, and it sometimes makes me wonder if I really am insane…but she's just always on my mind."

She took a deep breath, and faced him, wondering if she should tell him that that girl is her, that she's the one that's making him go insane…but would it be the right choice? How would his reaction be if he found out that it was her the whole time? Their relationship is only _platonic…_ He'd probably never want to speak with her again if he found out it was an odd, stubborn, origami-making girl like her.

So, yet again she chose not to say anything yet.

"No…I totally get you." She said. "But… when the girl chooses to reveal herself, what if she's not everything you thought she was?"

He casted a glance towards her¸ staring right into Kim's eyes, no longer walking. "I don't care. If I find her…that's all I want. And if it really is her, then she is everything I wanted."

"Then…she'll show." She promised. "I know she will."

And for the first time, their eyes locked, no words coming from either one of their mouths. She saw Jack intently staring at her eyes, like he was trying to recall something just by looking into her brown eyes.

"What is it?" She asked, standing silently as the rain continued to drench their hair.

"Nothing, it's just…" He took one last stare at Kim's eyes. "Nothing. Sorry."

With a smile, she turned away realizing that she'd reached the entrance of her neighborhood with the large houses behind the gate.

"Oh, I'm here," She said in surprise. She turned to Jack, and smiled. "I'll just walk home from here; you don't have to walk with me."

"You live _here?_" Jack said with his mouth agape.

"Unfortunately," She mumbled, staring at the place with dread. After a few more houses, she's away from her glorious fantasy-life with Jack and back into cleaning dishes, and mopping floors in the White Mansion.

"Well…I actually had fun today…you know .working on the project and all," He said a bit shyly.

"Me too." She grinned. "Thanks for walking me home, even though you really didn't have to."

"No problem." He smirked. "Oh, and one more thing?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you can't join the dojo since your parents said no…but say you'll come with me tomorrow just to check out the place." He pleaded.

"Jack, It's your special day…you should enjoy your first practice yourself."

"Yeah…but I want you to come. Come on, it'll be fun! Just to check out the place…please?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes playfully, staring at Jack who was soaking wet.

"I'm not leaving this place without a yes." He smiled. "And then I'll get sick from the rain and—"

"Okay, fine!" She exasperated. "I'll come with you tomorrow after school. Just don't be late again."

He had a satisfied grin on his face, and they both stood there awkwardly, caught in each other's gazes.

"You know, if you're so afraid of getting sick, you can put the hoodie back on if you want to," She said.

"Nah…I actually like it." He said. "Your weirdness has rubbed on me."

"Shut up," She shoved him playfully. They both laughed.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow in school, then." He said.

"See you around," She waved. And with a smile, they both parted ways, and Kim made her way towards her home, the conversations with Jack repeatedly spinning through her head.

And the smile didn't seem to come off of her face.

She was beginning to miss Jack's presence, those kind chocolate pools of his, that shaggy brunette hair and that warm smile. Was it possible to instantly click with one person in a matter of hours? To smile when they flash you their first? To get caught in those never-ending stares?

The fact that Kim couldn't stop blushing started to make her wonderstruck.

She made her way towards the main entrance, silently saying goodbye to the rain, and absorbing the last of nature's drops. While the rain didn't wash away much of her problems for good, it seemed to have soothed her. She rushed inside the house, assuming that nobody was home, ready to ditch the soggy clothes, and change into some warm ones, while she struggled to wipe the smile off her face.

But instead, she comes face-to-face with a dry Kelsey and Claire, who had evil smirks on their faces, and a purple belly-dancer costume clutched in Claire's hand.

_Shit._

"Aw, well look at who it is," Claire said. Trying not to look scared, Kim scowled at her. "It's the mystery girl."

"What were you guys doing in my room?" Kim snapped.

"Nothing…but earlier today at the _library, _we heard some interesting information that _you _were the girl who had saved Jack from the Frank and the others, and the girl with the necklace," Kelsey said.

"Kelsey!" Claire scolded. "I wanted to make it dramatic! You totally ruined everything, you idiot!"

"Look, I don't know what you guys are talking about," Kim said. "So, if you'll excuse me—"

"Not so fast you freak." Claire stopped me. "We're not done. If you didn't go to the dance, then…where's your necklace? You know…the one that says _Haley _on it?"

Her cheeks burned, and she hugged her damp T-Shirt together. "I—"

"So like good stepsisters, we decided to go in your room and help you find it," She said. "I mean, why would a guy as hot as Jack fall for a girl as stupid and as ugly as you, right? But then…we found this belly-dancer outfit that was exactly the same as what _Emma Stone _the other night. Care to comment, Kim?"

She clenched her teeth in fists, her teeth beginning to slightly chatter.

"Just tell me what you want," She snapped.

"Simple," Claire smiled. "You stay away from Jack, and you don't tell him it was you who changed his life. Since Kelsey and I are the only two people who know the name written on the necklace, I'll tell Jack it was me—"

"No, I want to!" Kelsey pouted. "He's _mine!" _

"Ha, like he would want to go with you," Claire smirked. "Go back to finger painting, Kels."

She wanted to say something, but Claire stopped her.

"Anyway, tomorrow I'll tell Jack that I'm the girl of his dreams, he'll fall in love with me, and once he gives me the necklace, I'll hand it over to you, and you'll regain your precious necklace back, and everyone will be happy. Sound like a plan, Kim?"

At first, she was almost surprised that Claire was actually _willing _to give her necklace back, rather than just throw it away. While she couldn't help but feel a little content that she'll get her mother's necklace back, she was actually deciding _against_ it.

It dawned on her that at this point it wasn't about the necklace anymore.

It was about Jack.

"And what if say no?" Kim challenged. "And tell Jack that it really was me?"

"Then, I'm sure Ty would love to hear about how you sneaked out of the house. And when people find out that you've been living at our house, which is his worst nightmare, I can't imagine what happen to you after what took place the_ last_ time he was angry with you."

She winced at the sound of that, her eyes trying to narrow threateningly at Claire and Kelsey, who had satisfied grins on their faces.

But she was ready to crawl under her bed in fear.

"Okay," She said, her voice slightly breaking in distress. "I won't tell him."

"That's my girl," Claire patted her wet hair, wiping the water on Kelsey's blouse. "Expect your necklace back by tomorrow. Oh, and by the way, daddy forgot to tell you—we have a special guest coming over tonight, so he wants you to prepare a fancy dinner when they come…which is in an hour."

"So you might want to do something about…_that_." Kelsey finally spoke, staring in disgust at Kim's wet hair and clothes.

Without another word, she marched off into her room, slamming the door behind her and anger, getting out of her wet, soggy clothes, her heart shattering into a million pieces. She didn't want to stay away from Jack. She wanted to be with him, to talk with him…just being around him makes her feel like she's on top of the world. But now, she's going to have to break her promise with him, and never reveal her true identity.

That broke her hear the most.

Normally, the rain would always wash away all her problems, her sorrows.

But this time, it did nothing but create a new one.

* * *

**A/N- And once again the plot THICKENS. Pretty sucky and slightlycrack!chappie with the origami birds, the cloud watching, and the whole dancing in the rain thing, but I worked really hard trying to incorporate more Jack/Kim drama, so I hope you all liked it. Have you guys noticed some of the MILLIE references? Yes, well that's hinting that the MILLIE drama will return in the next chapter! It's been a while since I went back into that story. Also, a lot of you have sent me PM's , and I just want to let you know that as internet connection is very slow, I won't be able to reply back to you, SO once I return back to the US on Friday, I promise to reply to you all soon! Just didn't want you to think I'm ignoring you…you sent some really sweet messages, so thank you! **

**Hope to see some more reviews since I finally put Jack/Kim stuff in here! I'd like to see if it's possible to get to 100….hmm… **

**Thanks for reading! **

**~Taylor **

**PS-Does anyone know when/if Kickin' It's coming back with a new episode this month? I heard that Hit the Road Jack is next and CROSS FINGERS that's true! I've been anticipating that episode ever since I heard about it! :P **


	6. Have the Walls Closed?

**A/N-Hey guys! Sorry this took so long to update…I've just been sick lately, so I didn't have much energy to write. I've actually been on YouTube a lot watching SMOSH and Nigahiga…haha, I live for funny YouTube videos. :P**

**Another long chapter...sorry. :P**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter! Starting off with the Millie drama! :D **

* * *

**Chapter 6: Have the Walls Closed?**

* * *

"So, why am I here again?"

Eddie Johnson spun around, and faced Milton with an annoyed look. Here they were, walking through the park as the sun set below the horizon, the orange and pink shades slowly darkening to purple and blue tones, yet Milton had no idea why they were there. All he got was an urgent text message, and being the nice, supportive friend, he immediately rushed into the Bayview Park, staring at Eddie with tired, annoyed eyes. Since Julie missed Biology, he had no choice but to finish the lab report all by himself. While it was a simple task for him to complete, he couldn't help but let his mind trail on Julie every five minutes, which only constantly delayed him from finishing his homework. But he just couldn't help it. It's been two whole _days _since she came to school, and as far as he knew, she had a record for perfect attendance since preschool.

Something was definitely wrong.

But what, though?

The rain had finally chosen to die down, but Milton was still walking on wet, moist grass, as he hugged his sweater for warmth, staring at Eddie impatiently.

Because now, he was just wasting time.

"Don't you ever listen to me?" Eddie scolded. "Remember that geocatching device you and Jerry got me for my birthday? Well, it said that there's treasure hidden here! In the park! It's called a 'hidden secret'! Isn't that exciting?"

"And you chose to call _me_?" He asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Well, I called Jerry but he's too busy with Grace…_again._" Eddie said irritably. "And I didn't want to bother Jack."

"So you chose to bother me?" He snapped. "You know I have a ton of homework!"

"This'll only take a few minutes!" Eddie pleaded. "I promise! The sooner we find it, the sooner you can leave! Milton, you've been the only real friend to me these past few days. Jack's too busy in fantasy-land trying to find his mystery girl¸ and Jerry's too busy hanging with Grace. He totally ditched me. But you—I know I can always count on you. Please, Milton?"

He heaved out a large sigh, staring at Eddie's imploring eyes which only made him feel sympathy. He's been friends with Eddie since the sixth grade, noticing how he always the innocent one, the sweet one. While Milton wasn't too auspicious in going on another treasure hunt with him, he didn't have the guts to say no.

For some reason, he just couldn't say no to Eddie.

"Fine." Milton huffed. "But if your geocaching device leads us to something stupid like last time, I'll…I'll…hit you!"

"Ooh, I'm _so _scared." Eddie remarked sarcastically. Rolling his eyes, he started searching through the park, and listened to the automatic voice that started driving the skinny nerd insane.

"_To find the treasure you seek, listen to the sound of something fragile and weak." _

He exchanged confused looks with the African-American, as they jogged through the perimeter of the park, to see if the device would possibly give more hints if they were closer to the target. The shades in the sky grew darker and darker which was making it hard for them to see. Milton looked around, not seeing anybody in sight. He was about to tell the naïve boy that they should just go home, and possibly look when they actually had some spare time, instead of on a school night. He was even pondering the thought of ditching Eddie, and just come up with some excuse later on…

When Milton's eyes suddenly trailed to a girl sitting on the bench.

His eyes distended in shock, as he saw the girl wearing her normal vintage, floral ensemble, her sandy brown hair shielding her face as she seemed to be engrossed in a book. While Milton couldn't see the girls' face, he knew exactly who it was.

"So let's think," Eddie said. "What or who do we know is weak and fragile?"

"Julie!" Milton hissed, his eyes distending his eyes in shock as he stared at the girl sitting on the bench.

"Good guess, but it's not nice to call your girlfriend weak and fragile—"

"No, you idiot!" Milton hissed, turning Eddie's head towards the bench. "I mean, she's right there!"

He saw Eddie's eyes widen in shock as well, as he saw Julie intensely reading, seeming to be in a deep train of thought. Milton couldn't believe his eyes, as he his jaw dropped wide open, with thousands of questions emerging instantly in his mind. Why she was here? Why hasn't she come to school?

Whatever it was, he was prepared to get all his answers.

"Damn," Eddie breathed.

"I know…what's she doing here?" He asked. "How is she so liberated to come to the park, but too busy to come to school?"

"No I actually meant the book she's reading," Eddie said. "_Damn! _How many pages is that thing?"

"Out of my way!" Milton said, throwing Eddie into the bushes, and scampering out of their hideout. He walked over to Julie, as she was captivated in her book, reading intently like she was trying to get rid of other thoughts. He scooted closer towards her¸ but she still didn't seem to even notice his presence, which annoyed him a bit. Hesitantly, he patted Julie's shoulder, feeling her flinch as she looked up with surprise.

"Julie?"

"Oh," Julie said, startled as she closed her book. "Hi Milton…sorry, I didn't see you there."

"What are you doing?"

"Just…reading in the nice evening breeze. It was getting a bit…crowded in my house" She said simply. It _did _make sense, considering she had two older brothers in their senior year, an older sister going to college, yet still staying in their parents' home, and a younger brother just entering middle school.

But the skinny boy didn't want any more sweet talk. He just cut to the chase.

"Why haven't you shown up to school these past few days?" He blurted.

Her slightly-cherry smile instantly changed to a frown as Milton sat next to her on the bench, trying to pat her comfortingly for warmth. But oddly, she seemed to wince every time he touched her, so he decided not to pull her into a hug.

"Um, I've just been…sick." Julie said, following a cough. "See? It is flu season."

"So why are you outside?" He asked. "I mean, it's pretty cold out here…especially at night."

"Well, I just needed some fresh air." She stated quickly. "I was in bed for days. Come on Milton…were you actually worried something _happened_ to me?"

"Well ever since Friday, yes I was." Milton said a bit angrily. "Remember when I came to your house to pick you up? You were crying, and you didn't go to the dance with me, and you seemed emotionally scarred….correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think crying and mood swings are side effects from the flu."

She opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but no words seemed to come out. Milton stood up from his seat, no longer taking in the anger, the lies, as he tapped his foot impatiently.

"Just tell me what's going on, Julie." Milton said. "I deserve to know."

"Look, I don't want to talk about it, okay?" Julie said, standing up. "Can you please just, respect that?"

"Julie, you know you can tell me anything, and I won't judge you," He said. "We're supposed to trust eachother in this relationship…so why don't you trust me?"

"Look," She said, grabbing her purse. "I have to go or I'm going to be late for…dinner. I'm fine, Milton. Trust me."

She managed a smile, reaching for Milton's hand, and gently squeezing it. But it didn't convince him one bit, as she saw the fear in her eyes, the guilt eating her up.

"Julie—"

"I'll see you tomorrow in school, okay?"

Before he could say anything else, Julie stood up on the tip of her toes, and placed a gentle kiss on Milton's cheek, forcing a reassuring smile on her face. While he spread a small grin across his faceas she walked away, he knew that smile and those eyes were hiding something.

And Milton wasn't going to rest until he found out what it was.

He saw Eddie appear out of the bushes, giving Milton a curious stare as he saw Julie leaving Seaford Park.

"_Sooo_?" Eddie said willingly, raising his eyebrows with a grin. "Why can't she come to school? Wait…don't tell me. She's going to college two years early."

"No…but she has been applying already." Milton said. "She won't tell me anything. It's like we're not even boyfriend and girlfriend anymore…why doesn't she trust me?"

"Dude, everyone has something to hide. There are just some things that you just want to keep to yourself. I think it's best if you just give her some space, and let her tell you when she's ready."

But Milton didn't want to do that.

He wasn't going to let this one go like he does with everything. He wasn't going to be treated like this by his own girlfriend, and just _let it go. _

For once, he was actually going to take action.

"Eddie, charge that geocatching thing really good. We might need its help if we're going to find what Julie Miller is _really_ hiding."

* * *

"So how's the food, Jack?"

He slurped down some spaghetti, and gave Ty White a small smile, nodding politely. To him, the food was like heaven. Forget the food—the entire _house _was heaven. The giant pillars, the breathtaking furniture, the multiple massive rooms. The minute he entered the house, his eyes grew so wide he thought they would fall out of his head_._ First, when Ty led showed him the training room, he was almost going to faint at the high-tech training equipment he had for martial arts. And after he led him on a brief tour of the mansion, it felt as if he took a hike.

And here he was, sitting on a dining table the size of his _kitchen_.

It almost made Jack feel upset that in a few moments, he'd be leaving this enormous mansion, and returning to his average little ranch, which they can barely even afford.

The brunette took a small sip of the bubbly water, shifting in his seat uncomfortably; feeling Kelsey and Claire's breath blow against him which made him feel even more unnerving.

He should've chosen better seats.

"The foot is great, Mr. White." Jack smiled, clearing his throat so the girls would get the message of backing away. Unfortunately, they didn't. "Thank you for the…lovely dinner."

"Oh, please…call me Ty!" He laughed, giving him a high five. Jack smiled at Ty's surprising kindness. If he was anything like his students, he pictured the sensei being some rude, dominant and over-obsessive kind of teacher. But from how kind Ty was to him, he envisioned being a part of his dojo not to be a _horrible _thing.

Of course, Ty would never offer that to him.

"Let me tell you something, kid," Ty began. "Now I've dealt with a lot of good students before, but you—you got a gift. You can do a perfect bow staff routine, your karate moves are precise, and you got that style too."

He laughed, his cheeks slightly reddening in flattery. "Wow, thank you. I mean, I don't think I'm _that _good but—"

"Good?" Ty said. "You're amazing! Probably the best I've ever seen!"

"I totally agree!" Claire chimed in. "Oh, and did you know that my dad's dojo is certified to be one of the best dojos in town?"

He raised his eyebrow, taking a sip of water. "Really?"

"Yep!" Kelsey barged in. "He's won a lot of awards! And I'm sure you have too, with your awesome karate moves, and your charming smile, and your…gorgeous hair…" She gave him a dreamy stare which made Jack to back away a little bit in disgust. He felt another arm wrap around his, pulling him away strappingly.

"Step off sister, he's _mine!" _Claire hollered.

"Girls!" Ty screamed. With apologetic—and flirtatious—stares, they both backed away from Jack, which made him sigh in relief.

"Sorry about that," Ty said, glaring at the girls. Jack just nodded, trying to manage a smile—but he was ready to leave any minute if it meant staying away from these girls.

"Anyway," Ty said. "So with your phenomenal skill, I was wondering if you'd like to join my dojo. Because the Black Dragon Martial Arts Academy would be honored to have you as an addition to our advanced class."

His eyes tore away from the spaghetti, and he faced Ty with widened eyes, as Ty was staring at him with those big, excited eyes, just forcing him to say yes. The fact that he'd just offered Jack to join his dojo was too surreal for him to comprehend. Out of all people, why would he choose him?

"Wait…are you serious?" He asked, nearly choking on the last of his spaghetti.

"Yes, I certainly am." Ty grinned. "Think about it, Jack—you get the high-tech equipment every day, you'll be constantly going on tournaments, and more importantly—you'll get to do what you love whenever you what! And with you by our side, we're _sure _to be winners. So what do you say?"

While a part of him couldn't help but feel a little excited at the opportunity, Jack didn't like the idea. His intention in joining karate was to enjoy himself, to make new friends, and to do what he loves without having to deal with a boat-load of pressure. To Jack, martial arts were about determination, and most importantly enjoyment. Yet, it didn't seem like that to Ty. To this sensei it was about winning.

Just winning.

Even though he was impressed with the high-quality equipment, Jack Anderson didn't want that.

"Um, Mr. White," Jack began. "Thank you for the offer, I'm really flattered. But I'm already signed with the Bobby Wasabi Dojo—"

"You are?!" Ty exasperated, standing up in shock. "But…But I thought—"

"Claire and Kelsey just told me that you wanted me to spend some time with you doing karate for fun." He said, also standing up to meet him in the eye. "I mean, at least I thought that's what it was."

"Well that and also offer you a once in a lifetime opportunity." He said. "You'd be lucky to be a part of our dojo, my friend. We'll treat you like royalty, just like we treat all our students. So I hope to see you tomorrow at six for our first practice session?"

"Mr. White, I already told you," He stated again, his voice rising in slight infuriation. "I'm already a member of another dojo. And we can barely even afford—"

"Come on Jackie-poo…Bobby Wasabi's a joke." Claire said, standing up, pouting her lip seductively at Jack. "I mean, have you met the sensei? I'm surprised he can even afford a good pair of shoes."

"Yes I have, and he's actually a really good person." Jack yelled defensively and angrily. "At least Rudy knows the true meaning of martial arts."

"Guys, if he doesn't want to join, so what?" Kelsey shrugged. "Come on Jack, let's go to my room, I'll show you my seashell collection—"

"KELSEY!" Claire and Ty scolded, which caused Kelsey to immediately sit down, as she pouted her lip in disappointment. Rolling his eyes, the brunet fixed his grim stare towards Ty once more.

"I'm sorry sir, but I can't accept your offer." The brunet affirmed.

"I gave you food, I showed you around our million-dollar home, and I even let you practice in my training room!" He bellowed in rage, his nice-guy side vanishing in a matter of seconds. Jack clenched his fists angrily, as he glared at him in frustration. The fact that Ty had invited him here for his own benefit enraged him. He was ready to scream at the man, possibly even rearrange his face. But by looking at the flames dancing wildly in the sensei's eyes, he immediately decided against it, and kept his cold glare and kept his jaw constricted.

"I came here to meet you, sir. Not to become a part of your dojo." He said, with fury clearly portrayed in his voice.

"You know what'll make you change your mind?" Ty said, pointing his finger at Jack for emphasis. "Desert! My uh…maid knows how to make some good Mango Tart Pie! HEY! GET OUT HERE NOW!"

"Uh, that won't be necessary," He stopped. "I'm sorry but my mind's been made up. Thank you for the dinner and everything, but honestly, if I knew you were going to propose this idea, I would've never even shown up."

"Jack—"

"Look it's getting late, I should probably get going." The brunet said. Anger boiled inside of him, feeling ready to punch a wall for his foolishness, not taking Jerry's advice, and being so stupid to lure himself into Ty's little trap. He threw the napkin on the table, ignoring Ty's calls, about to leave the dinner table and leave the immensely large mansion…

When he tripped over something, and nearly collapsed to the ground.

He heard a girl's scream, and opened his eyes, finding himself on top of another body that cushioned his fall. For a second or two, his vision was blurry but it was evident that he'd fallen on top of a girl. He could see splatters of Mango Tart Pie all over the place, feeling his shirt soaking by the second from the cream. But none of it seemed to matter, as the shocked brunet could now clearly see the girl he'd fallen on, which caused his eyes to amplify in utter shock. He could see her honey-blonde locks spread messily on the floor, her face covered in piles of cream. Even with the pie stains, Jack instantly recognized the girl.

And when he stared into her doe-like brown eyes, he couldn't believe who it was.

"_Kim?!"_ He yelled in complete shock.

The blonde stared at him with frantic eyes, opening her mouth as if she was about to say something¸ but seemed to be utterly speechless. Jack couldn't take his eyes off of hers, downright startled to see her _here. _What was she doing here? Is she Ty's maid? Why would she work for him if she lives in a neighborhood as rich as this?

Continuing to lock shocked eyes with Kim, he didn't know the answer to anything.

For some reason, as he stared into her eyes, it seemed like he was entering into some sort of retrospect¸ his vision slowly blurring once more into—

"Jack! Are you okay?"

He felt a hand immediately clasp his arms, as he saw Claire and Kelsey helping him to stand once again, leaving a stunned, speechless Kim on the ground with pie covered all over her body. Jack looked at his T-shirt seeing a pile of Mango cream smeared all over.

"Look at what you've done!" Ty roared at Kim, who struggled to stand up. Jack wanted to step in and defend her, but Kelsey and Claire started to drag him out of the house. She saw the frightened look on Kim's face, who seemed so afraid to even open her mouth.

"I'm sorry, but—"

"No! You're a worthless piece of crap!" He heard him say. "Would it kill you to put on a mask to cover that ugly face of yours? Look at this awful mess you made! You really know how to ruin things, you little bitch! Because of you, he's gone and I may never get a chance back at the top! I told you I don't want anyone knowing—"

But before he could hear any more, Kelsey and Claire had slammed the door in his face, leaving a stunned Jack alone in the night sky.

The brunet banged on the door once more, begging to come in again, but all he heard was screaming and banging coming from the _inside._

Panting frantically, he sprinted off, with the image of Kim Crawford not departing from his mind.

The image of him actually entering that horrible house a few hours earlier was stuck in his head in utter guilt, for making such a terrible mistake.

The frightening part was that both those images were _real. _

* * *

The blonde winced at every move she made.

Images from last night wouldn't stop rolling in her mind, as she insipidly dragged her books out of her locker to go to her next class. She could still feel her eyes stinging from her tears, her skin sickly pale, and her blonde hair lifelessly shielding her face. Her cheeks were still warm from the slaps across her face, the bruises on her face and arms continued to throb painfully, and her arms and legs were trembling like a Chihuahua. The girl didn't even anticipate coming into school today, but thinking that she may get in trouble once more, she immediately decided against it. Donna and Claire had been the usual to her, calling her vicious names as they passed the hallway, and also catching winks from Claire which only caused her to feel even more miserable. Yet, It was Kelsey who had given her sympathetic stares for the first time every time she passed by her, sometimes even opening her mouth like she wanted to say something.

But of course she didn't.

Nobody ever cared enough to reach out to her.

And that's why Kim Crawford decided to shut out the entire world so she doesn't fall for anybody's tricks.

The first thing she was going to do:

Avoid Jack Anderson at all costs.

While she desperately wanted to explain him everything, she didn't want to see him anymore. After what happened last night, Kim was positive he won't want to have anything to do with her, since she was nothing but a dirty little "maid". Kim did try her best to avoid Jack's sight last night by setting the table before they came in and by hiding in the kitchen until he would leave. She began to regret spending time with him in the first place, even though they barely hung out together. How did a few hours alone with him make her feel so…content with him? Why was she giving in so easily with him?

The thought of that started to haunt her.

So his is why she decided to put an end to it as soon as she can.

She saw Grace rushing towards her with an excited grin on her face. Normally, Kim would have been overjoyed to see her, but after the drama that took place last night, she wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody.

"Hey!" She squealed, as she approached her locker. "I texted you like hundred times yesterday and left like a thousand voicemails. Had too much fun on the _Jack Express?"_

Kim didn't say anything and instead, faced her with her bloodshot eyes, and worn-out face. Grace's smile immediately disappeared, as she stared at the blonde with concern and worry.

"What happened?" She asked in concern. She took a longer stare into her eyes, seeming to comprehend immediately why she was so devastated. Her eyes trailed to Kim's bruised lip, and her warm, red cheeks, gasping in horror.

"What did _he_ do?!" She added in distress as she gently rubbed her finger gently on Kim's bottom lip.

She took a deep, rickety breath, ready to burst into tears. Before she could even say anything, she heard the bell rang. The blonde faced Grace with sad eyes, and just shook her head.

"I'll tell you after school," She replied. "If you're late for Ms. Collin's class again, she's going to give you detention."

"Kim—"

"Go," Kim insisted. "Don't worry…I promise I'll tell you. I have to get to Mr. Sander's class."

Not even waiting for Grace's response, the blonde slammed her locker and rushed off avoiding any more interrogation from her best friend. Honestly, rather than going into Mr. Sander's class, she just wanted to lock herself in a bathroom and cry in it, scream at her mom for dying on her (not out loud, of course), and wonder why her life is so horrible—

"_Oof!" _

The blonde nearly tripped, when she felt a pair of hands grasp her arms tightly. She looked up, seeing Jack facing her with concerned, distended eyes. She noticed the hallways being completely cleared, with nobody but the two of them, locking eyes.

Yet, Kim stilled pulled away from his grasp, breaking away from his inviting stare.

Because she still hasn't forgotten about Claire's little "blackmail".

Plus, she didn't want him to notice her bruises.

"Kim, I…I was looking all over for you. I need to…talk to you." He stuttered. She didn't say anything, folding her arms across her chest, continuing to look down.

"Are you okay?" He added.

There was a long pause when she finally muttered, "Yeah. Never been better."

What an_ amazing_ liar she was.

"Kim, please look at me," Jack pleaded. Without even waiting for her response, he slowly lifted her chin, and she reluctantly made eye contact with him. His eyes distended in shock, as he stared at her bruised lip, and red cheeks.

"Whoa, what happened to your lip?" Jack said, gasping in horror.

"I…tripped on the way here." She lied. "My lip was bleeding. You know me…constantly bumping into things and people."

Again…what an _amazing _liar she was.

"Kim…tell me what's going on," He insisted, not seeming to buy the white lie. "One minute, I see you being the happiest girl in the world, who enjoys making origami, and dancing in the rain and the next I see you cleaning up Mango Tart Pie and getting cursed at by Ty White?! And something tells me you don't work for him for a little extra money."

Kim continued to stay silent.

"Why do you _live _with them?"

"That's not of your business." She snapped.

"Kim—"

"Listen, I can't come with you to the dojo." She interrupted, with another trembling breath. "Or do anything with you. I just need you to forget about me. I'm sure you'll be better off anyway."

There. She said it.

Kim started to walk away, when Jack caught her wrist and stared at her with confused eyes, which only caused trails of tears to run down her cheeks. Jack stepped back slightly when she saw her slightly crying, which Kim actually appreciated, rather than having such close proximity with him.

"What's stopping you?" He asked softly. She wanted to say it was her horrible stepsisters. She wanted to say it was her abusive stepfather that had forbid her from speaking with him. She wanted to say it was her crappy life, and that no matter how hard she tried, she'd never get to do martial arts.

Instead, Kim Crawford said two words that had equally shattered her heart.

"Goodbye Jack." Kim said, and without another word, she walked away and rushed into the bathroom, locking herself in one of the stalls, not even bothering that she was more than fifteen minutes late for English. She wept and wept, still feeling her cheeks burn from last night, the echoes of the beatings still resonating in her head.

"_Then…she'll show. I know she will." _

And that was when Kimberly Crawford realized that for the first time, she had broken a promise.

* * *

"Dude…you even listening?"

Jack's eyes bored into Jerry's, as they once again sat in their lunch table with a slightly smaller line of girls in front of their table. They still haven't found their mystery girl but surprisingly, Jack didn't seem to be interested. For some reason, all he could think about was Kim. She seemed so miserable, like she needed someone to talk to, but wasn't ready to open herself. It was as if she had a wall wrapped around herself.

A wall Jack couldn't break through.

He's only been with her for one day. And yet he'd never felt more curious about anyone before. Ever since last, Jack's thoughts only seemed to revolve around Kim, what she was hiding, why she couldn't bundle up enough courage to tell him the truth…

But it seems like after their conversation earlier today, Jack was never going to get the answer.

Why was this bothering him so much? They were nothing but friends…no, _acquaintances._ Why was his thoughts constantly drifting off to her and her beautiful golden locks, her shocking brown eyes—

"Huh? Oh yeah…that's wrong. Um, can we please just take a break, Jerry? I'm getting a little tired of this." Jack mumbled. Nodding, Jerry faced the girls.

"Hey girls, that's all for today. Sorry, and if you're still looking for a boyfriend—I suggest you look elsewhere, 'cause we're both taken, alright? Now leave!" And with a roll of their eyes, the girls walked away, leaving a confused Jerry (as always) and a frustrated Jack alone.

"What's wrong? I thought you were so into finding this girl…you're not going to give up that easily are you?" Jerry said, taking a seat next to him.

"No, I'm not giving up. I am into this, but…I've just been preoccupied lately." He said¸ looking down in disappointment.

"With what?"

He took a deep breath, giving Jerry a guilty stare. "Well see, I actually went—"

"Jack!"

The brunet looked up, seeing a girl with angelically-curled red locks bouncing down her back and an excited grin on her face, as she stared at Jack willingly. Rolling his eyes, Jerry stood up, facing Claire and her slightly frenetic eyes.

"Sorry mamasita, we're closed. Come by later…or never." Jerry said, trying to shove her away. With a glare, Claire snatched Jerry's arm and twisted it, which caused Jerry to shrill loudly in pain. With his jaw dropped, Jack stared at Jerry as he clutched his arm, wincing in pain.

"Don't touch me," The redhead snapped. In fear, Jerry backed away, standing behind Jack with his eyes dilated in anxiety. The scenes from last night not leaving his mind, all Jack did was give Claire a frown, while she flashed an innocent smile.

"What do you want, Claire?" Jack barked.

"Listen…I was too nervous to tell you this…but I think it's time," She breathed and gave a melodramatic pause. "…_I'm… the one_."

All Jack did was raise his eyebrow at Claire's strangeness.

"You?" Jerry chimed in. He started to laugh a bit uneasily, struggling to take it as a joke. "Ha, ha…that's …that's funny, because…"

But Jerry's voice trailed off as she saw the dead solemnity in the girl's eyes.

"Wait, you were serious?" Jerry asked, glaring at Claire.

"Yes, I'm not lying. Hello—of course I saved Jack! Unlike most girls, I actually know karate from my dad!" She yelled defensively, flipping her hair.

"Not enough," Jack said. "You have to tell me the name that's on the necklace."

He was slightly amused, seeing how long Claire was going to pull this off.

She smiled. "The name belongs to my mom. Her name is Haley."

Jack and Jerry's amused smile disappeared as they faced Claire with inclusive eyes.

_Haley. _

Claire is the one.

Wait…What?

_Claire _is Jack's mystery girl? His savior physically and mentally? The reason why's going to his first martial arts lesson today?

Jack wasn't convinced one bit.

The girl he met on Friday night was someone special. She was a girl who wasn't afraid of anything or anyone, a girl who could break stereotypes as well as she could break a board. A girl that had somehow made her way into Jack Anderson's heard without even his knowledge. And no matter how hard he tried, the girl just wouldn't leave.

Jack knew for a fact that Claire certainly wasn't _that _girl.

He narrowed his eyes, staring at the perky little girl skeptically, as she applied gloss on her lips, her eyes seductively trailing on Jack. He exchanged looks with Jerry, and they both knew what they had to do in order to find out if she was _really _the girl.

It was dangerously risky, but Jack was willing to take the chance.

"I'm right, right?!" She squealed.

With a small playful smile, he stood up and walked closer towards Claire. "Okay. If you're _really _the one Claire, then I hope you wouldn't mind if we sparred together."

Her jaw dropped as she stared at Jack with tensed, fuming eyes. "_What?!"_ She roared. "But…that wasn't the deal! I tell you the name, you realize I'm your love, and we live happily ever after! The end!"

"Welcome to _life _my dear, where in this world there are never any happy endings," Jack smiled in satisfaction. "So…are we going to spar or what?"

"I'm…I'm not ready," Claire stuttered, backing away. "You can't possibly make me spar with you in front of—"

"If you were really the one, you wouldn't need to be ready." He said. "And I think the answer is clear in this situation."

Before Claire could argue and say any other excuse, the bell rang loudly throughout the cafeteria. With a last glare, Jack walked out of the cafeteria with Jerry by his side, clenching his teeth in frustration. Noticing the brunet's rising fury, he stopped in his tracks and eyed Jack.

"Dude, what's with the bad vibes?" He said. "It's okay, we can still find her…there are still ten more girls left from the sophomore class…Well, eight if you subtract Donna and Grace because Donna was with us when you left, and pssh…I think the answer is clear with Grace! She's mine, bro!"

Jack rolled his eyes, and Jerry gave him a reassuring smile and patted his back.

"Don't lose all your hope, man."

"Yeah, but…how did she even know the name?" Jack said. "I didn't show it to anyone but you and I know you wouldn't do that to me."

"I don't know, man. Maybe it was just a coincidence. It's a pretty common name, you know."

He still had a gut-wrenching feeling in his stomach, contemplating how on earth she guessed the right name. The fact that it was specifically Claire who had found out the name seemed suspicious to him. Was it because of Ty? Was this another one of his tricks just so Jack can get closer to the Black Dragon dojo? Or was Claire just feeling a bit extra stalker-like lately?

He started to ponder more possibilities…until he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Jack turned around, seeing an innocent looking brunette facing him with those big brown eyes, and a flirty grin, with her hair flowing her shoulders. The two boys noticed that it was Claire's sister, Kelsey who was a lot calmer, yet a lot less smart than Claire…or most people. Jerry stepped in front of Jack, giving Kelsey a rude scoff.

"Hey back off sister," Jerry snapped. "I got a girl already. You lost your chance."

Kelsey glared at Jerry. "Oh yeah? And who is that?"

"Uh, Grace Adams. Yeah…that's right. Jelly much, Kels?" He said in satisfaction.

"I have jelly? Where?" Kelsey said frantically, her eyes darting to her outfit to check for any stains. Jack and Jerry exchanged stupefied looks and rolled their eyes.

"Uh, Kelsey?" Jack said, pushing Jerry aside. "You don't have jelly anywhere. But what I do want to know why you're here to see me."

"Oh, right!" Kelsey squealed. "I have to tell you something."

He raised his eyebrow as Kelsey just let ou an excited grin.

"Ready to meet your mystery girl? Because you're looking at her!"

Now _this _was just getting too far.

"Don't tell me," He said. "You know the name too."

"Damn right I do!" Kelsey squealed. "It's my mom—of course I know her name. So, when do you want to go on our first date?"

"Listen Kelsey," Jack said sympathetically, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know that deep down—way, _way _deep down—you're a…smart, nice, and amazing person. But you're not my girl."

"Wait…I can show you my karate moves if you want!" She offered. "See, I can do the Flying Dragon kick! Watch!"

Jerry and Jack exchanged frantic looks, both telling her that it wasn't a good idea, but if course it didn't seem to stop her. She jumped into the air, and threw both her legs out. But unfortunately she failed on her attempt, and collapsed to the floor on her back.

"Ow," Kelsey moaned. A number of people began to crowd around her, jaws dropped and eyes widened. Slowly, the two boys backed away from the scene, and sprinted away, rushing towards their classrooms so they wouldn't be blamed for Kelsey's possible injury. While Jerry seemed to shrug it off, as he spent more time talking with Grace, Jack's fists were clenched in fury throughout the entire class period. The fact that both Kelsey and Claire knew the name angered Jack, as he discovered their real plan behind it. He knew that it obviously had something to do with Ty, and that's what infuriated Jack the most. Not only was he running out of possibilities as to who their mystery girl could be, but just how one little careless mistake he made was beginning to ruin everything.

And Jack Anderson had never felt guiltier in his life.

* * *

"…And_ that's_ why I couldn't reply to your texts or calls."

The blonde rubbed her stinging eyes with the back of her sweater, drying them as much as possible so tears wouldn't bother to fill in them once more. She hugged her knees in depression as they sat with Grace on one of the benches of Bayview Park with their bags dropped to the ground, the autumn wind blowing angrily through their hair, causing Kim to flinch in the chill weather. But not only was she wincing from the unpleasantly cold weather, but telling Grace _everything _thathappened from the minute she left Kim to go play _"what-does-that-cloud-look-like?"_ with Jerry.

Every single moment.

Grace had water in her eyes, but she quickly wiped it off as she rubbed Kim's arm comfortingly to show some sort of strength for her.

But the blonde knew that Grace was ready to break down after hearing Kim's woeful tale.

"Kim…you need to tell someone," Grace said. "He's just taking things too far. Ty has no right to—"

"I know that." Kim intentionally interrupted. "But I can't do that. I have no sort of evidence he's been doing this to me."

"Your bruises are evidence enough!" Grace screamed. Immediately as if on cue, the bruise on her cheek, her lip and her arms started throbbing erratically, which only made Kim to wince in pain.

"Well what happens after I turn him in?" She argued. "Ty gets arrested, I get sent to a Foster's home, and so does Kelsey and Claire. Who knows where I'll go?"

"Well, I'm sure it's a lot better than getting abused by him for no reason!" Grace hissed. "And you'll finally be away from Kelsey and Claire! It'll be the perfect ending!"

"You don't know that, Grace." She said. "I could get sent anywhere. And there's no guarantee that they're nice people. I'm about to turn sixteen…no foster parent would even accept me. And what about Kelsey and Claire? They'll get sent to a Foster's home too…I can't do that to them."

While those two girls were the most vicious girls she's ever met, and has been ruining her life the day she met them when she was just at the tender age of four, they were still her step-sisters. Even though Kim hated them with a burning passion, she wouldn't forgive herself if something terrible like that happened to them.

She knew the feeling.

"You can't do that to them?" Grace echoed. "Kim—this is Kelsey and Claire you're talking about. Remember, the ones who blackmailed you from telling Jack that you're his girl? Come on, don't be a saint! I mean, even Ty forbade from you seeing him. And I can tell it is killing you inside."

"It is," She admitted, nearly wanting to burst to tears by reminiscing her potential final moment with Jack. Just when they had started getting along, her fate chose to demolish it in a matter of seconds, in a matter of words. She'd gotten so close with him in just a few hours, and just in a few seconds she'd grown so apart from him.

And now, she'll forever regret breaking the promise she made to Jack.

"But I can't do anything about it. I'm sure Jack is overjoyed that it's someone as gorgeous as Claire, and they're living happily ever after. Claire said she'd give me the necklace back, but it doesn't seem to be about that anymore. I should've told him when I had the chance but I was just…"

She didn't want to admit it out loud.

Because she didn't have the courage.

"Kim…I know you were scared, and that you were just waiting for the right moment." Grace said gently. "But look where it got you. Don't wait for the right moment; just make it happen."

"It's too late to make anything happen now." Kim said, rubbing her eyes once more. "I already told him that we're done, and that I can't hang out with anymore."

"It's never over; you can still talk to him!" She squealed. "Forget what they said to you, or how they blackmailed you. If Ty touches you again, I'll report it. But you have to tell him…he deserves to know, and you deserve to be happy. Come on…what do you have to lose?"

"Gee I don't know; my possible chance of _surviving_?" Kim retorted.

"Kim…I know you, okay?" Grace said, taking her hand. "Before all of this happened, I remembered you always being the fearless, go-for-what-she-wants kind of girl. The girl who was always so confident and wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. And I know that she's in there somewhere. All you need to do is find her."

"I can't find her. I tried all these years, but ever since mom died…so did she." She argued softly.

"Then look a little deeper. Try to be the girl that you were before all of this happened. The girl on Friday night that wasn't afraid to beat up four Black Dragons. And more importantly…the girl that Jack Anderson fell in love with."

Kim locked eyes with her, as Grace returned the stare with her deep dark brown eyes. She hated to admit that Grace was actually making a point. Who Jack fell in love with was _her…_a side of her that she was too afraid to expose. And oddly enough, he was the first person to discover that side after all these years. Her bruises seemed to be calling her name, as they ached horribly for emphasis, reminding her of what would happen if she did choose to tell Jack. The bruises could even turn into something worse if she did tell that it was her all along. She hadn't forgotten the restrictions her step-family had made on her when it came to Jack and it started to kill her inside.

But it soon came to her realization that she didn't care anymore.

That's right.

Kim Crawford wasn't scared this time.

Because that girl under the shawl under Friday night was starting to become a visible part of her.

She turned to Grace and immediately threw her arms around her, squeezing her into a tight hug. More than anybody in the world, she was so grateful to still have her in her life to help her get back up if was knocked down.

Like now.

"Thank you," She said. "For everything."

She pulled away and gave her a smile. "That's what friends are for." She said, patting her arm. Her eyes immediately casted away from their stare, as they darted towards something that had immediately caught her attention. Confused, Kim followed Grace's eyes and they were staring at two boys who were walking past the park, one seeming to be in usual obnoxious state, while the other seemed to be quitter and gloomier than usual. The two girls amplified their eyes in shock as they stared at eachother.

"Speaking of friends," Grace said. "Now's your chance. Your last chance, maybe. Remember…don't wait for the right moment, just go for it! Forget about what you told him earlier today…just say it! And if Jerry can, ask him to come over here, yeah? We haven't talked much today, and honestly, I miss him."

She giggled and took a deep, shaky breath, with butterflies immediately popping up in her stomach. With a last smile, she rushed off towards Jack and Jerry. While Jerry was continuing to ramble on something Kim couldn't quite comprehend, Jack had immediately caught her sight, and rushed towards her, leaving Jerry to ramble to himself. He pouted at Jack, but he seemed to have caught sight of Grace instantly. He rushed over to her¸ throwing his slightly muscular arms around her, laughing like they'd heard the funniest joke.

And now, here Kim was right in front of Jack who was staring at her curiously.

"Kim?" He breathed in relief. "I…I thought you said you can't—"

"I know, and I still can't," She interrupted, looking around to see if the coast was clear. She took a deep, shivering breath and faced Jack with confident eyes. "But I don't care anymore, because I'm not letting my own fear control me. I need to say this, and I need to say this now."

"Okay," He said, his relieved smile slightly turning into a frown. "I'm listening."

She took another deep breath. "For a long time I wanted to tell you this but I was just too nervous…but I'm not anymore. And I don't know if you'll be okay with it but I'm—"

"You know what? Don't even try." Jack retorted, with anger clearly portrayed in his voice. Her confident mindset seemed to have blown into a million pieces, as she faced Jack with shocked, fearful eyes.

"What are you—'

"Just the drop the act already, okay?" He yelled. "I get what's going on. God, Ty is just relentless…first Claire, then Kelsey and now _you? _Kim…I thought you were different!"

She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Jack, I'm telling you the truth." She said, controlling her temper.

"Right, because you know the name, you can do a Flying Dragon Kick, and all you want to do is make out. Oh, and I know you're also just doing this so I can get closer to Ty and become a part of that stupid dojo. Well guess what—I wasn't born yesterday, Kim!"

The blonde felt like the world was crashing down on her, as she stood there face-to-face with an enraged Jack, utterly speechless. She saw his fists were clenched, seeming so furious that steam could've blew out of his ears. She wanted to say something, so she opened her mouth, but no words would flow out. Seeming to sense that, Jack continued his rambling.

"If you really were the one, you wouldn't be afraid to tell me what's really going in your life, and why you're living with Ty. You wouldn't be afraid to stand up to your parents, and you wouldn't give a second thought about coming with me to the Bobby Wasabi Dojo. And you wouldn't be afraid to tell me the truth in the first place, before I threw this huge search party. But you're just the opposite of her! And you still expect me to believe that you're that girl on Friday night who gave me the advice to _not_ be afraid¸ and the same girl who took down four Black Dragons all by herself?"

She stared at Jack with heartbroken eyes, as her body was trembling in shock, in embarrassment. Just when she'd gotten the courage to finally tell Jack how she felt, of course her fate comes in to send her back to the bottom, no longer having the willpower to get back up. She'd taken every in every tear-jerking word he'd said, and while she was inconsolable from everything he'd accused her of, it dawned on her that he was…right.

The girl on Friday night and the girl she's been for the past ten years are two different people. Unfortunately, they were so different that Jack couldn't even see them being the same person.

"Whoever told you to stay away from me…I think you should just listen to them. I think you'd be better off, anyway." And without another word¸ Jack walked off, with Jerry following Jack behind, sending a few last waves at Grace. All Kim did was stand there, motionless as she saw Jack storming off angrily towards the dojo. The eyes she'd tried so hard to dry filled themselves with water once more. She heard Grace running up to her, with a smile plastered on her face.

"Kim! Guess what?" Grace squealed. "Jerry's taking me out to Falafel Phil's when they're done with karate practice in an hour! So…I'm assuming we'll be going on a double date with you and Jack?"

Kim finally chose to look up at Grace, quickly wiping the water from her eyes before it would start falling down her cheeks, as she folded her arms tightly across her chest for warmth. Grace's excited smile disappeared as she caught sight of her heartbroken eyes. The brunette seemed to have understood everything that had taken place between the two as her eyes slightly distended in shock and disappointment.

"He didn't believe you, didn't he?" She asked.

She took a deep, trembling breath as she wiped the tears away from her eyes. She faced Grace, and gave her a small nod, the conversation repeatedly flowing through mind in a continuous loop.

"I told you. He would never go out with a girl like me, let alone fall in love." She sniffed. Grace looked down in disappointment, as she rubbed her arm comfortingly. However, Kim slightly stepped away, and gave her a confident look. While she was still devastated and frankly a mess, there was something from that conversation that had stuck on to her the most. Not just what he had said, but what she realized about herself that had given her the courage to not lose hope. To not give up.

"But that doesn't mean I'm not the girl who Jack fell in love with on Friday night."

* * *

**A/N-Okay, I'm stopping there because it was getting too long. :P Hope you enjoyed it! Well, it was pretty depressing with poor Kim getting abused, and Jack not believing her, but fear not my Kick Warriors I have a surprise planned for y'all in the next chappie! I'm not going to lie, this was not probably one of my worst chapters yet, but cut me some slack since I wrote this while constantly coughing and wasting thousands of tissues. Haha, anyway I hope you'll leave your thoughts to a review! I can't believe I'm ALMOST up to 100 already! OMIWOW, that's amazing! Thank you guys so much for reviewing! Your support means the world! **

**I'll see you all soon with my next update! Hope you liked this chapter!**

**REVIEW!**

**less than three,**

**~Taylor :) **


	7. In Retrospect

**A/N-Hey guys! As promised, here's my next update on OUAD. As for this story, I'm not really sure what's going to happen. School starts in exactly one more week for me, and there's no way I'm going to be able to finish it, considering I have one last one-shot I want to write for you all. But for now, just enjoy the story. I promise to work something out for this. I really don't want to leave it hanging. **

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 7: In Retrospect…**

* * *

"Alright guys, that was a good practice! You guys did awesome…especially you, Jack! Now, let's call it a day…I'll see you guys in a next week!"

The blonde and the brunette stood by the entrance of the Bobby Wasabi dojo, seeing a short blonde-haired man—who she assumed was their sensei, Rudy—patting the kids on their backs, shoving them into their dressing room, while he cringed his nose at their sweaty odor. It had only been an hour later since her drastic argument with Jack, yet the conversation wouldn't stop replaying in her head. Every time she thought about him, different moods would appear into her mind¸ how she hated him, how she was so angry with him, how she was so heartbroken…

How she hated that Jack was right about her.

But this was why she was standing here. While Kim knew this was a dangerously risky thing to do, she dodged her fears aside, dodged everything aside and did what _she _wanted to do.

Kimberly Crawford was going to get back into Martial Arts.

It has been a while since she's been in a dojo, and she had to admit this was _nothing_ like her stepfather's dojo. The punching dummies weren't as state-of-the-art, the mats looked a little worn-out and moldy, and the ambiance of the dojo didn't seem as professional as a public place was supposed to be. Compared to the Black Dragon dojo, this place truly was nothing.

But she liked it.

While the ambiance didn't feel professional, it felt…friendly. It felt comfortable, a place where you could a find a real family, people who would truly care about you. And that was the kind of place Kim was looking for.

Grace gave her a stern glare, and grabbed her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. She could see the nervousness in Kim's eyes, so she tried to find her confident-self back again. Because she knew what she was doing. While she and Jack were practically finished, she still wasn't going to break another one of the promises she had made to him.

And Kim Crawford was going to prove to him, to everyone, that she's still that same girl from Friday night.

And always will be.

"It's okay," Grace said. "What you're doing is a good thing. Don't give it a second thought. You can do this all your own. I promise not to intrude!"

She smiled, and without another word, she let Grace drag her into the dojo, coming face-to-face with the short, blonde-haired man who had a warm, giddy smile on his face as he faced Kim and Grace.

"Hello girls," Rudy smiled. "What can I do for you?"

"Well…I…you see—"

"She'd like to join your dojo!" Grace blurted, pointing at Kim. She death-glared at her eyes distending in shock. The brunette let out an apologetic, sheepish grin, but that wasn't enough for Kim to stop being mad at her.

"Well thanks for not intruding, Grace," Kim hissed sarcastically. She faced Rudy whose face had flickered in interest as he began to stare at Kim with a lot more excitement.

"Really? And you'd like to join too?" Rudy asked in interest, laying his eyes on Grace.

"Well, actually I'm—"

"Yo, yo, yo Grace!" Their eyes trailed to Jerry who rushed up to Grace from the locker, pulling her into a small, friendly hug. She couldn't help but smile at Grace's wide, excited grin. Honestly, this was the first time she'd ever seen her so happy, and the fact that she was so content simply pleased her.

"Ah I get it…you kids have fun." Rudy smiled. With an exchanged laugh, they both ran off, leaving Kim and Rudy alone in the dojo. The blonde took a seat with him on the bench, and she stared at him with slightly nervous eyes. Yet, Rudy's eyes seemed to kind, so cheerful, it just instantly calmed her down.

"So you want to join karate, huh?" Rudy asked. "What's your name?"

"Sorry…I'm Kim." She held out a hand. "It's so nice to meet you, Rudy. I heard so much about you."

"Ah, well Kim, welcome to my dojo!" He glowed, spreading his hands out theatrically. "I know it's not much, but…" He couldn't seem to finish his sentence. "Yeah. That's it. It's not much."

"No, it's…it's great." She smiled reassuringly. "It's everything you could ever ask for in a dojo. That's really all I ever wanted."

"Aw, stop it you!" He grinned, tapping Kim lightly on the shoulder, which caused her to laugh. "So, have you had any experience in martial arts before?"

"Well, I took it when I was four…but my life just grew complicated, and I had no choice but to quit. I have been trying to practice when I can, so I don't forget what I've learned…but it looks like you can't do _everything _on your own." She said. "But martial arts…it's a huge passion of mine, and I was hoping to get a spot here."

"That's great! It's so nice to have someone who's so passionate about this sport!" He exclaimed. "I'd be glad to help you, Kim. And I really think that—"

"No Eddie, we are not going to spy on—"

Their eyes once again trailed on Milton and Eddie who had walked out of the locker room, giving Rudy and Kim a shocked look.

"Hey guys, what's the haps?" Eddie said, his voice escalating higher.

"Wait, Kim…you're going to be joining us?" Milton asked her.

"Yeah. I guess I am." Kim smiled after a long pause.

"Well, congratulations on being a Wasabi Warrior, Kim!" Eddie exclaimed, trying to act nonchalantly. "We're just going to….leave you two alone, you know sensei-to-student time, am I right?" He started laughing uneasily but all they did was glare at him in confusion. As if their eyes sent daggers to his, his eyes distended slightly in fear.

"Okay bye!" Milton exclaimed, and before they could say anything else, the two just ran out of the dojo leaving an utterly baffled Rudy and Kim.

"Uh…should we be worried?" Kim asked.

"Eh…they're always up to something," Rudy shrugged. She laughed.

"So anyways, I'd love to have you join this dojo. All I need is your mom or dad to stop by and do some paperwork." Rudy said, standing up.

That's when her smile had disappeared.

She stood up and faced Rudy, taking a deep breath. Yes, yes, she was aware that this issue would come up. But if she wanted to gain her old self back, she shouldn't let this come between her.

The only option she had left was to be honest.

"Rudy, I can't really bring my parents, because…" Her voice trailed off, as she exhaled deeply. "They're no longer with me."

His giddy smile disappeared as sympathy trailed all over his eyes. "Oh…I'm so sorry I brought it up."

"No, no, it's okay," She said, managing a smile. "You didn't know. But I just don't think the paperwork can work out. My stepfather doesn't really encourage things like this, since he's not exactly what you call "Number 1 Dad" material. But I was hoping that if you let me in, I'll try and get a few jobs so I can get some extra money to pay."

"Well, who's your stepfather?"

She hesitated to answer, but she decided to listen to her own heart, rather than listening to what Ty told her. She knew it wasn't the best choice to do, but if she wanted to get in, she's going to have to take more risks than originally thought.

"…Ty White."

His eyes instantly enlarged in tremor, as he stared at Kim like she'd turned into some mutant alien. She stared back at Rudy completely baffled, trying to find words to say that could possibly change the subject. Yet, when he started backing away from her slightly, she knew that this wasn't going to work out.

"So…you live in the same _house _as Ty?" Rudy asked. "A.k.a, my sworn nemesis since high school, the man who has been looking out to destroy me?"

She looked at him with nervous eyes, and gave a hesitant nod. How did he even know who Ty was? "Just please don't tell anyone. Nobody's really supposed to know…I'm only telling you, since I desperately want a spot here…Ty wouldn't even let me step inside his dojo."

"Um…" Rudy began. "I'm sorry, but if you don't have a guardian available to sign up, I'm afraid I can't let you in."

So much for being confident.

"Rudy please…I'm begging you," She tried pleading. "I don't have anywhere else to go and it would just mean the world if—"

"Kim, I'm sorry but I can't accept someone who's anywhere related to that dojo." He admitted. "You seem like a nice girl and everything, but I—"

"Wait!" Their heads turned to face a freshened-up Jack who ran out of the locker rooms, awe-stricken as he saw the blonde standing in this dojo. For a second, Kim could see a mixture of surprise as well as anger in his chocolate brown pools, but the surprise seemed to dominate as he was shocked to see Kim in the dojo. She folded her arms across her chest, not wanting to make eye contact with him in any way after what happened. She had officially despised Jack Anderson and to her, there wasn't anything that would change that.

You think you find someone you can trust, and they don't even bother to believe a word you say.

"Oh hey, Jack." Rudy said with a kind smile. "Have you met Kim? Yeah, apparently, she—"

"What if she spars with me?" Jack offered.

"Excuse me?" Kim asked with eyes widened in shock. He didn't bother to turn around and return any sort of eye contact which just frustrated her more that he was continuing to ignore her.

Yet the offer he'd just proposed was still unnerving to her.

He wants Kim to…_spar _with _him?_

Well, she actually wouldn't mind that…at least it gave her full permission to rip his skull off and soccer-kick it to the roof.

"Why would you want to do that?" Rudy asked Jack in confusion.

"So you can see her karate moves," Jack said. "She's probably a little broken since she hasn't done martial for so many years, but don't reject her. At least give it a try. Come on, you can't just throw her out just because she _knows _who Ty White is."

_Broken?_

Oh, when she's done with him, she's not the one that's going to be _broken. _

Rudy stared at Jack for a while, his eyes darting between him and Kim hesitantly. He heaved a large sigh, and nodded reluctantly with a roll of his eyes.

"_FINE,"_ Rudy exasperated. Reluctantly, she stepped onto the mat, finally coming-to-face with Jack, scowling at him. He merely bowed at Kim, giving her an expressionless face which seemed to frustrate her even more.

"I'll go easy on you if you want," Jack offered. She raised her eyebrows at him, as he exchanged glances with Rudy. She clenched her fists in rage, and sent daggers into Jack's eyes.

_That. Was. It. _

With her teeth constricted¸ she immediately shot her fist out in Jack's direction. Out of surprise, he caught it and faced Kim wide-eyed, and for a second they were once again locked in one of their staring contests.

But Kim didn't want a staring contest.

She wanted a fight.

"Don't even." Kim scoffed, and before she knew it, she was on full-force. Jack released her fist, and shot his leg out, and with a sharp hand¸ Kim slapped it back down. The blonde shot out her leg, but Jack knocked it down, immediately aiming for a punch. She blocked it with her hands, and threw it back to his side, aiming a side kick towards his hip, which didn't seem to take on any affect. Before she knew it, Jack lifted his legs and performed a roundhouse kick, but Kim instantly ducked, leaving her scratch less. She lifted her leg back up, and as Jack shot out another punch, she grabbed his wrist, and clutched it tightly, preventing him from making any movement. And with a final challenging smirk, she grabbed the back of his neck and flipped him to the ground. She fell on top of him, and before they knew it they were eye-to-eye. She gave him a confident¸ satisfied look, while Jack was just staring at her with wide eyes, like a statue. The blonde could hear the both of them panting heavily, with their breaths blowing off each other's faces. For a minute or two neither of them spoke, as they were both mesmerized by each other's eyes.

Jack seemed to have been captivated by Kim's hazel eyes the most.

"If you're too stupid to not trust me, and you choose not to believe me…then that's fine," Kim panted. "But _nobody _says I'm not capable of doing martial arts."

The brunet remained silent, as if he'd just been taken on a retrospect by her eyes. Without another word, the blonde stood up, and walked out of the dojo. She could see an awe-stricken Rudy, opening her mouth as if he was about to say something. Was he perhaps going to say that he wanted her in? That he reconsidered and wanted to work something out?

Or was he just going to scream at her for possibly injuring one of his best students?

Whatever it was, rather than stopping, Kim just continued to walk out of the dojo, walking back home in the Californian sunset.

And upon Kimberly Crawford's face, played a satisfied smile on her lips.

* * *

In retrospect, Milton had never _stalked _people before.

Stalking people was never his intention, and he'd never dream of doing such a…creepy thing. But as this was Eddie's idea, and as he was as curious as his African American friend, he had no choice but take the risk. He had never dreamt of actually sitting on the top of a tree branch with bugs crawling everywhere, the hard bark roughly rubbing against his skin as well as the thousands of germs. And again…this was Eddie's idea.

To watch the girl he loves in her bedroom.

His stomach lurched in guilt, as he saw Julie in her bedroom looking as beautiful as ever in her pajamas, and her messily-tied hair, furiously doing her homework on her bed. While the guilt was eating him alive, his curiosity couldn't help but dominate. She seemed to interact normally in school with Milton, planting the occasional pecks on his cheek, and of course she didn't forget about their daily chemistry rants. But he knew her so well; he saw the force in her eyes, something seeming to hold her back that had proved that something was gravely wrong.

Which is why he's sitting here, trying to slip in unnoticed as he continued to spy on his girlfriend.

"Eddie…I don't feel right about this," Milton hissed to his friend. "I mean, isn't it kind of…perverted to be spying on her while she's at home…in her _bedroom?_"

"We don't have a choice, okay? This is the best way to find out what she's hiding," Eddie said. "I mean, on Friday night, she was crying when she came _out _of the house, wasn't she?"

"Yeah…so?" He asked.

"_So, _something must have happened at home, then which is why we're spying on her in her room!" Eddie whispered. "Now…Cheez-it me, will you? I'm starving."

Rolling his eyes, the ginger handed him the box of Cheez-It's, and he started scarfing them down cracker by cracker, while they were both observing what she was doing in her room. Before they knew it, the twilight sky had turned into a starry night. Things seemed to be going on normally, and by the time the day had finished so did the box of Cheez-Its.

"Eddie, this is so stupid," Milton hissed in irritation. "We've been in this stupid tree for almost an hour, and nothing happened. I can't believe I let you talk me into this!"

"Well, excuse me for trying to help!" Eddie retorted, glaring at Milton. "I could be playing video games right now¸ but _no_—I'm forced to watch _The Secret Life of an American Nerd_ with you!"

Feeling guilty, he stared at Eddie apologetically. "I'm sorry, it's just…maybe we were overreacting…maybe Julie was sick and—"

"_THUMP!"_

Their eyes frantically darted towards the noise coming from Julie's house, the noise making her jump as well. It sounded like the noise of a door slamming shut. Milton could tell by the frequency of the noise that whoever banged the door shut was definitely not feeling the most content at the moment.

He could see Julie looking around her room frantically, as if she wanted to hide somewhere. She rushed to her door and locked it, rushing all over the place to tidy things up. Milton exchanged confused looks with Eddie, staring at her room with a little more interest. How did she go from just a normal girl in her room, to hiding from her life?

More importantly, what was she hiding from?

She was about to pull the shades on the window when there was loud banging coming from her door.

"_LET ME IN!"_

He saw Julie panting frantically, screaming "LEAVE ME ALONE! You may be my father¸ but you'll _never_ be my dad!"

"_You let me in your house or your mother gets it again! Need I remind you what your stubborn little acts caused her on Friday night?"_

With a fearful stare, she rushed towards the door and unlocked it, revealing a tall, muscular man with his shirt half-unbuttoned, his eyes bloodshot, and his face tired and weary. The man could barely keep a steady balance as he stumbled towards a frightened Julie with an angry snarl. Milton stared at the man wide-eyed, utterly terrified.

The man was drunk.

And the man was Julie's father.

"When I say you let me in, you let me in!" He said, grabbing her hair, causing her to screech in pain. "Got it?!"

"Where's her medicine?" She screamed. "You said you were going to get mom's medicine¸ but instead you go out and drink and come home smelling like _ass? _What a responsible husband you are, _father!"_

"You will talk to me with respect, you filthy, ungrateful—" He banged her head against the wall, sending her collapsing to the ground. The alcohol seemed to have consumed him, as his eyes were more vigorous than ever. Wheezing frantically, the skinny boy was about to scream Julie's name and climb through the window—

When he lost his balance on the branch and fell to the ground.

With a loud _"Thud!"_ his ribs banged against the cold, grassy dirt. He heard another _"Thud!" _assuming that was Eddie who managed to jump down safely. Affirmative that he heard a crack coming from his ribs, Eddie struggled to help him up. He clutched his abdomen in agony, wheezing heavily as he could no longer catch a view of Julie's bedroom. He exchanged frantic looks with Eddie, his darting between the road and her house.

What the hell was happening?

"Eddie…we have to go inside! Julie's in trouble!" Milton shrieked, struggling to walk inside. Eddie stopped him, putting an arm around him as he was struggling to hold a steady balance with his ribs throbbing discomfortingly.

"Where you need to go right now is a doctor!" Eddie said. "Come on, let's get out of here! Julie's father saw me in the tree, and he does not look happy!"

"No, I don't care! She's in danger, I have to help her! Please Eddie!"

"So are you! And if you go in there, you'll be in even more danger! Your rib cracking is not a good thing! We'll figure this whole mess out later—let's _go!_"

Before Milton could argue any further¸ the African American dragged his weak body out of the Miller's front yard and onto the pavement, where is ribs continued to ache horribly from the fall. He was too feeble to fight from Eddie's tight grip, the neighborhood beginning to spin into thousands of little circles. He began to feel nauseous¸ his breaths becoming shorter and sharper. Luckily, Eddie had managed to drag the boy into his house, which was only a few houses down, but the last vision Milton caught was the view of his living room.

No, scratch that.

The last vision Milton Krupnick caught was the sight of his girlfriend, feared out of her mind, with small trails of blood dripping down her nose.

A sight that he pained to watch.

* * *

_She wants to be free, like a runaway_

_Trying to believe, gonna find a way_

_We got just one life; tonight we're running all the lights,_

_Trying to break free, like a runaway_

The blonde slightly smiled while the sound Mat Kearney's _Runaway_ ringed through her ear-buds,as she let the chill November breeze blow through her bare skin and wavy hair. She rested her elbows on the wooden handlebars, exhaling deeply while shutting her eyes peacefully. A normal girl would've felt devastated that she lost her chance on going back to the sport that she loves, that the guy she once thought was actually trustworthy and special broke her heart and left the pieces shattered on the floor. A normal girl would've crawled up in her bed, shedding tears, while listening to something a bit more depressing…perhaps Adele or maybe even Coldplay.

But of course, Kimberly Crawford was no ordinary girl.

Because to her, there was only one thing that changed the entire outcome of this day, that turned this day from the worst day of her life to an accomplishing one.

She finally stood up for what she believed in.

The confident girl that was trapped inside of her all these years had finally chosen to start breaking free. Rather than going home in tears, the confident Kim instead proved her point. She wasn't weak. She wasn't scared of anyone or anything. She does have the ability to stand up for herself.

And she really was the girl on Friday night.

That left her absolutely satisfied with herself¸ and for a second, Jack didn't seem to matter. Nothing did.

_Mom, I did it. After ten years of hiding under a shell, I finally tried to stand up for myself._

Kim impulsively reached for her neck, but nothing was there. The sadness rained on her once again. Not only did she lose Jack, but she also lost her mom's necklace, her only closest connection to her.

Forever.

The blonde looked out into the night sky, admiring the stars that were shining in the sky, all glowing in a beautiful shade of yellow. It was as if they shining for her, for everything she did today.

They were all yellow.

It reminded her of her mom's favorite color being yellow, how she always used to wear yellow pieces of clothing, how she'd watch the sunrises and sunsets with Kim's tender little head lying on her lap. While she was only four, she still remembered every single little moment she had with her mom.

Every lasting moment.

So she smiled at the stars, and exhaled deeply, ready for the most bizarre thing she's ever about to do.

"Hi mom," Kim talked to the stars. "So, the stars are shining beautifully, aren't they? If there was a postal service to heaven, I would've sent you pictures of how beautiful the night sky is right now. Of course, I'm pretty sure you already see them…you are one of the stars, and always have been one," –She bitterly laughed—"Well anyway…mom, I did it. I proved to Jack that I'm not a weakling. To everyone. I tried getting into a dojo, but of course it didn't work. I feel like everything started falling apart ever since I lost your necklace…and I'm so sorry. I know you gave it to me, trusting I'd keep it safe, but I didn't. It just makes me miss you even more…I wish I could just see you one more time."

Then as if on cue, a hand grabbed her foot.

Completely baffled, she screamed as the iPod clattered on the floor, seeing the hands fumbling to find something to hold. She stared frantically at the hands that were gripping the railings, a figure slowly emerging with struggle. She could see the figure wearing dark clothes, brunet hair that almost flew to his shoulders and a frantic look as he stared at Kim, but the dark sky prevented her from recognizing him.

How did a burglar get inside the house?!

"St-stay back! I have a bat in my room, and I'm not afraid to use it!" Kim shrieked, backing away the figure that climbed over the railing and into her balcony.

"Kim, no! It's me!" She heard a familiar voice. Defenseless, the blonde yanked the sandals off of her feet, aiming it at the boy in the hopes that he would leave. Instead of backing away, the boy made his way closer towards her and begged her to stop, but she continued screaming, trying to throw punches in his face. Finally, the boy pinned her against the window pane, gripping her wrists so she couldn't make attacks anymore.

"KIM! STOP IT!" He screamed. He managed to find the lamp switch and flicker it on. The blonde could finally see the boy with his brunet hair, and chocolate brown eyes staring at her widely and frantically, their faces as close as ever.

She realized that the so-called "burglar" was none other than Jack Anderson.

"JACK?!" She screamed, releasing from his grip. He backed away slightly, clearing his throat, and rubbing his hand on the back of his neck awkwardly. "How did you…why…what the—"

"Sorry, did I scare you?" He asked, fiddling with his fingers in guilt. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh no…you didn't scare me," She began. "No, no, no…how about SCARRING ME FOR LIFE?! I don't know if I should call you a pervert for being up here and grabbing my foot, or a complete stalker for finding out where my room is!"

"Well, I heard you talking to yourself and the attic was the only light on in the house." Jack said. Her cheeks slightly colored in embarrassment.

"What are you doing here?" She panted, changing the subject.

"I came to talk to things out with you," He said. "And it took me a while to climb all the way up here, so I'd really appreciate it if—"

"I don't want to see you," She stated angrily, constricting her jaw. With flip on her heel she started opening the window to her room.

"You don't have to see me, just listen…please?" He called. She stopped in her tracks, and folded her arms across her chest, still not bothering to turn around. She knew she was going to have to listen to this sometime, considering the boy probably wouldn't stop until he got her attention.

"Fine." She said reluctantly, still having her back turned on him. "You got two minutes; otherwise I'm bringing out the bat."

Kim could hear Jack's relieved sigh, which almost made herself calm down. "Kim, I just want to say I'm sorry for all those things I said about you. I shouldn't have said those things…especially when—"

"Who cares? I get it, Jack…you don't trust me, because you think I'm making it all up. Because you think that I just want your precious little attention." She interrupted. "Well, all I wanted was for you to know the truth, and just when I think that you're actually a nice guy, you say all these horrible things and you don't even trust me. You're no different from any other guy I've met. All you guys want to do is just to break people's heart, and leave the shattered pieces on the floor while you move on in life. Well guess what—it's not that easy doing that to someone who's already had their heart shattered a million times. So I don't accept your apology. So why don't you just leave the way you came?"

"Kim—"

"No Jack, I'm tired of picking up the shards myself! I've been through way too much already and I don't need you to come in and just play with it like it's some kind of toy. So you know what, just leave! Now!"

There was a painkilling silence between the two, and while Kim had the urge to turn and face him, she decided against it. She could hear Jack's foot tapping anxiously, when he finally spoke.

"Fine…I understand. But I think you at least deserve to get back what's rightfully yours."

Before Kim could say anything, she heard Jack's footsteps echo closer towards her. He placed something cold around her neck, wrapping it around gently with his fingertips brushing against her skin. She nearly flinched at the cold metal rubbing against her skin, a feeling she hasn't endured for a while now. Baffled, her eyes trailed on what Jack had put around her neck, and the first thing she saw was a pendant.

And the pendant had the name "Haley" etched on it.

With a small gasp, she clutched the pendant in relief as well as surprise. She turned around, finally meeting Jack's eyes that were big, brown, and begging for forgiveness. He slightly chuckled at Kim's surprised look, his gaze never leaving hers.

"How…how did you—"

"We sparred earlier today. When you took me down, you looked me right in the eyes…and you sounded just like her. I remembered seeing your eyes from Friday night, since that was the only thing exposed on your face, and it was the last vision I caught before I passed out. And that's when I knew that…you really are the one."

She didn't say anything, continuing to stare at her mother's necklace that was finally in its rightful place once again.

"Kim, I know you've been through a lot, and I'm sorry I snapped at you today. I was only mad because Kelsey and Claire had also guessed the right name, and then when you told me the name, I just thought it had to do with Ty wanting me to join his dojo. So I just kind of…lost it. But I never meant to hurt you in any way…those things that I said were horrible, and if I could take back everything I said, I would in a split second. Because I really was a jerk to you. I hope we can just…put all of that behind us?"

She wasn't ready to forgive _that _easily.

Kimberly Crawford wanted an explanation.

"But you said it yourself, Jack. I'm _nothing _like her…I'm too afraid to stand up for myself, too afraid to tell you the real reason why I live here, and I'm just a hypocrite. So how did you still believe that it was a girl like me? Because I know lots of girls that have brown eyes."

"Because you _are_ just like her." He said. "You eventually didn't let any obstacles come in your way to get what you wanted. You sparred with me like I was one of those Black Dragons you took down that night. You weren't afraid to get your point out. And most of all…you kept a promise, Kim. You showed up to the dojo, like you promised. When I found out that it was you…everything made sense."

She looked up at him, staring at his effervescent brown eyes. "Well, I never break my promises."

"I have to ask you something though," He said. "How come you never told me in the first place? Before I threw this huge search party, and…lost my mind?"

"Because I was afraid," Kim admitted. "I was afraid of what you would think if it was me. I mean, I'm just some odd, origami-making, moody, secretive freak that's not going to get anywhere in life. Nobody with common sense would accept someone like me."

He locked his gaze into hers, and inched closer. "I would. And I couldn't be happier that it's you and not some prissy girl like Claire or Kelsey who cries from breaking their nails."

She let out a dry chuckle, curling her lips into a little frown as she faced the brunet. "Jack…you don't have to pretend that like you me. I'm not some charity case, and if you're just doing this out of sympathy, then I'm really not interested."

"Who said anything about sympathy?" Jack asked, inching a bit closer towards the blonde. "Kim…do you know how long I've been searching for you? It may have only been less than a week¸ but to me it felt like forever, because I just went absolutely crazy looking for you. Ever since Friday night, I just couldn't stop thinking about you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be a part of the Bobby Wasabi Martial Arts Academy living my dream, something I haven't done for years. And I would probably be suffering from a concussion if you hadn't saved my life from those Black Dragons."

She took a deep breath, letting the anxious butterflies to flutter furiously through her stomach, and letting her cheeks burn from timidity, as Jack was now closer to her than ever.

"I guess ten years of secretly practicing martial arts really does pay off," She shrugged, letting a small smile to escape from her lips.

"Well, thank you." He said. "For everything…I honestly don't know what could've happened to me without you."

"No problem." She smiled. "I figured the Black Dragons deserved a taste of their own medicine."

"So…are we good then?" He blurted, his eyes begging for forgiveness. She rolled her eyes playfully, and looked down, contemplating the thoughts of forgiving him. Kim was never that easy when it came to forgiving people, considering she was forced to do it so many times before. But now she's face-to-face with someone who climbed three floors just for her, who apologized maybe a hundred times in the past ten minutes, and who didn't seem like he was ever going to give up. For some reason, when Jack asked for her forgiveness, she didn't decide against it.

Because Kim knew that she'd never find anyone else who would accept her for who she was.

"Yeah. We're good." She laughed. He smiled in satisfaction, putting his hands in his pockets shyly. They both had ended up laughing together quietly, standing there in the chilly night in peace with an awkward silence filling in.

"Oh by the way…what if I told you that you get back into karate again?" He asked with a grin. She chuckled in amusement as she picked up her iPod.

"I'd say you were some sort of hypnotist, because Rudy didn't seem like he even wanted me in that building," She laughed.

"Then I guess you should call me your hypnotist then," He chuckled with an excited grin. She narrowed her eyes as she gave him a confused smirk.

"What?" She laughed.

"Well, I spoke with Rudy afterwards, and he was really impressed by the way you took me down. After a little convincing and arguing, he spoke with Bobby Wasabi, the founder of the dojo, and they're willing to offer you a scholarship. You start on Saturday."

She gave him a blank stare, not seeming to sink in his words.

Did he just say that she can _start _Martial Arts?

She's been trying to start Martial Arts for years, hiding from Ty, hiding from her stepsisters, practicing whatever she knew, searching YouTube videos to improve her moves…

And now she can finally step in a real dojo, with real training equipment, real people, and a real sensei?

"Are…are you serious?" She choked.

Jack laughed at her shocked expression. "Hell yeah I'm serious. Rudy told me how Ty wouldn't even let you go near his dojo, and I figured talent like that should never go wasted…especially your talent. Hey, you helped me, so I helped you. So…congratulations Kimberly Crawford. You're officially a Wasabi Warrior."

A wide, excited grin exploded on Kimberly Crawford's face as she faced Jack with her eyes immediately lighting up. She couldn't seem to control her contentment as she jumped up and down, squealing like a little girl. Realizing that she'd probably just humiliated herself, she stopped, letting him and herself burst into quiet laughter.

"Oh my goodness, I…I don't know what to say," She laughed.

"Say you accept the offer, and that we're going to have a re-match on Saturday where _I _win," He teased.

"You're on," She smiled. "Jack…thank you. Really…you don't know how much I appreciate this."

"No problem. It's the least I can do." Jack smirked. They both fell silent for a few minutes, not taking their eyes off of eachother.

"Well it's getting really late," She said, breaking the silence. "I should probably get some sleep…and you should too."

"Wait!" Jack called, before she could climb into her window. "One last thing?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you maybe want to hang out after school tomorrow? We can go anywhere you want…maybe we can get to know eachother better. A few hours with you yesterday wasn't enough for me."

She gave one last sigh and faced him, meeting his mesmerizing chocolate brown pools that were supposed to be eyes. Without a second thought¸ she smiled and nodded.

"Sure," Kim grinned, biting her lower lip. He smiled in satisfaction, and with a last wave he jumped over the railing and climbed out of her balcony, and back onto the grounds. The content grin on her face wouldn't leave as she stared out to the new moon sky, as she dreamily rested her head against the window pane. The whole scene had just seemed to surreal to her. The fact that Jack had truly found out it was her, the fact that he helped her to get into martial arts, the fact that she was going to finally do something she's been awaiting for ten years.

The fact that her dreams were finally beginning to come true.

Of course, Kim wasn't the type to have a guy constantly stuck in her mind, let alone fall in love. She wasn't the type to smile every time she saw those big brown eyes, that confident but slightly shy grin. But with Jack Anderson, Kim was a completely different person.

And for the first time in her life¸ Kimberly Crawford actually felt happy.

The blonde trailed her eyes onto the glistening stars that were dancing happily in the night sky with a radiant yellow glowing everywhere. They seemed to have been shining for her, which only made Kim feel like the happiest girl in the world.

For the first time, she had communicated with her.

And before she went inside into her bedroom, she talked to the stars one last time.

"Thank you for always looking out for me. I love you, mom."

* * *

"Claire, stop pulling on my hair!"

"I wouldn't have to pull on your hair, if you hadn't used the last of my shampoo, you idiot!"

"_Guys!"_

The ginger gave the two girls a penetrating glare, her eyebrows rising intimidatingly. The hallways had cleared fast for lunch, which meant that if they wanted to get through this, they were supposed to be silent. Yet, even though it had only been a few hours since she'd heard _the news, _the girl felt like it was eternity, as her mind wouldn't stop angrily circulating around it. And now, seeing those two freaks eye-to-eye with shy but flirty grins plastered on their faces just made her blood boil.

If it's anything Donna Tobin is really good at, it's jealousy.

It all started this morning when the girls and she were applying some last-minute makeup on their face. She thought that now Kim was no longer an obstacle, she could finally gain her chance with Jack Anderson, even though he knew very well that she wasn't that girl that had supposedly "changed his life". She saw a slightly jolly-looking Kim walking towards her locker, in her usual dreadful ensembles, still with a bruised lip. She contemplated how the girl who had just gotten a beating from her stepfather the other night to seem so pleasant. Insults started to work her way up to the tip of her tongue, so with a pleased smirk, she nudged Kelsey and Claire, gesturing towards a gratified Kim, as she conversed giddily with her sassy, and of course ugly brunette friend.

But that was when Jerry Martinez kid ran up into the hallway with a big announcement.

And her answer.

And now, these two other brats were just making her want to punch a wall.

"Will you guys please shut up?" She hissed. "I'm trying to eavesdrop on a conversation here!"

"Donna, will you chill? Why can't we just let Kim be happy?" Kelsey said. The two glared at her, rolling her eyes.

"Kelsey, get real." Claire rolled her eyes. "If she wants happiness¸ she can clean our bathrooms."

"Shh! Let's listen, first! I want to hear what they're saying!" Donna said impatiently, leaning her ears towards the hallway so she could hear Jack and Kim's conversation. She could see Kim leaning her head on her locker while Jack had his hands in his pockets, flipping his brunet hair to the side.

"So when are you going to tell me your real back story?" Jack asked. "You know…you never even told me yesterday. Who that necklace belongs to. Why you live with them."

"I'll get to it, okay?" Kim rolled her eyes. "You know I could've wakened them up if you stayed any longer. I promise to tell you later."

"How about after school? Me and you…maybe we could go to the park and just talk, I guess?" He offered. "And I could help you learn some new techniques to impress Rudy tomorrow?"

"Sure. I'd like that." She smiled.

And with another exchange of shy smiles, they both set off to the cafeteria, walking so close she could see their shoulders touching which only angered her. The ginger constricted her jaw in frustration, feeling her blood boil by the second.

"How did they even get a chance to talk?" Kelsey asked. "And why does she want to impress Rudy? And how did Jack even believe her when he didn't believe us?! Ugh—people these days!"

"Isn't it obvious, stupid?" Claire snapped. "She joined that Bobby Wasabi Dojo. And I heard Jack just recently joined there too which is why he passed down Dad's offer."

"What does he see in that snotrag?" Donna grumbled.

"Well he always did have a thing for her," Kelsey said. The two shot a death glare towards her, which caused her to put her head down in embarrassment.

"So what should we do, Donna? I mean, we could tell our Dad and I'm sure when he finds out, he's going to be—"

"No." Donna interrupted Claire with an idea springing up in her head instantly. "Whatever you do, don't tell on her."

"Why? I thought you enjoyed making her suffer?" Claire asked.

"True…but let's give her a break from her dad…for now," She said. "And with martial arts officially added to her list¸ she's going to be Miss Fearless Crawford now, so your dad's no longer a threat."

"So then what do we do?" She asked.

A tight, cynical grin curved on Donna Tobin's lips as she faced Kelsey and Claire, folding her arms across her chest in satisfaction.

Because if there was anything that Donna Tobin was better at, it was revenge.

And she knew exactly what she needed to do to bring Kim Crawford fall back down the stairs.

"Leave it all to me."

* * *

**A/N- Terrible, I know. But hey, major drama and a pretty interesting cliffy. So I hope you liked it. So SMALL CONTEST TIME: Can anyone catch what song I made a reference to when Kim was all alone looking at the stars and talking to her mom? HINT: It's by one of my favorite bands. Hehe. :D **

**I hope I can at least write one more chapter before School starts. I really don't want to leave this story, but if High School gets in the way I'll have no choice but to abandon this story. So sorry…but if I can get a conformation from my friend seek-keep-chase-beat or Sienna to continue this story for me, then it won't be abandoned. I'll update you all on the plans for this, because honestly I'm not so sure. **

**Review please? And my last chapter of The Hunt as well? I haven't gotten that many reviews as I hoped I would on CH6 of OUAD AND CH20 of The Hunt, so if you haven't reviewed please do. It would make me feel better. **

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! KICK MAKE UP!**

**~Taylor :)**

**PS-OMGOMGOMGOMG WHO'S EXCITED FOR HIT THE ROAD JACK?! I HEARD THERE'S SOME MAJOR KICK-NESS IN IT AND I AM FANGIRLING! I also heard that it premieres in Canada THIS Sunday? Is that really true? Because if it is I hope somebody records like that person did with Rowdy Rudy…**


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